Just Another Day
by Crazy Danae
Summary: What would Chloe assign if a meteor freak article didn’t fall into her lap? Reviews are greatly appreciated! (Please, please, please) COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1 Assignment time, part 1

_**Author's Note:** I know that the entire point of this is to get feedback and that's exactly what I'm looking for... Just please be kind. smile This is my first posting, after all!_

_**Disclaimer:** As we all know, none of the characters or the locations are mine. They are all part and parcel of the WB and whomever writes for it. I'm not trying to steal it, just put my take on it. All credit goes to them. All hail the WB..._

Chloe looked about the Torch with a smile on her face. A neat freak would wonder how she could possibly be so comfortable in such chaos. The floor had stacks of articles from other papers and old editions of the Torch and her Wall of Weird now encompassed two walls... heading for a third. She looked at her computer, wondering if she should try to go paperless, but shook her head. Not only was there something more satisfying about researching through hard copy, but she always seemed to get really bad eye strain while trying to work solely from the Net.

A groan and a muffled beat distracted her from her satisfied contemplation of her organized disorder. Her gaze flickered onto the dark head of her friend. It was so utterly lovely to have someone so _mind-numbingly_ normal in her life that she smiled the smile of the just. Currently, Clark seemed to be pounding his forehead against the desk. Poor thing. He must really be having problems coming up with new ways to make the lunch schedule and the latest girls' floor hockey match exciting. She knew that the only reason why he'd started at the Torch was because she'd practically twisted his arm. But did he and Pete really expect her to do this all on her own? It wasn't as if neophyte reporters were always cropping up in Smallville. For crying out loud, she had to practically force all of her interviews as it was! She desperately needed help... And to have that bit of eye candy around for a large chunk of every day… Well, _she_ wasn't complaining.

She rolled her eyes at her thoughts and decided to watch Pete for awhile. He was editing their latest edition of the _Chloe Chronicles_. So far, it wasn't going as smoothly as she'd hoped. After all, she'd only wanted to talk to Dr. Walsh and then he totally disappears on her. She growled and thought about throwing something to relieve her frustration, but decided that it would just mess up her system. She wondered why Pete was still there. After all, his girlfriend of the week must be dying for his company by now… He turned and smiled at her, seeming to sense her gaze. She'd investigate him for the Wall of Weird if she didn't know that it was only due to daily and prolonged exposure to herself that he was so intuitive. Sometimes she wished that she felt something romantic for him. Between her two guy friends, he would have been the easiest to have a relationship with.

A knock sounded on the door before it opened. Chloe smiled at her friend… her only girl-shaped friend. Who would have thought only 2 months ago that she and Lana would be friends? It hadn't been so long since she'd hated her with a passion… Mostly because Clark would practically drool all over himself and then because… Well, let's just put it this way. With Lana around, it was enough to give a girl a complex. But then she turned out to be really nice _sigh_ and she'd been forced to look at Lana's good points. Now if she could just get her to bypass anymore angsty self-pity and find a direction in her life other than the Talon, Chloe thought she'd be ahead of the game. Of course, having her on the paper when she's quite willing to provide coffee for those late research nights could only be considered a bonus.

The room continued with the murmur of normal teenage high school paper conversation. Lana had tried to talk to Clark who only moaned and continued his rhythm. Lana showed more common sense than usual and was currently discussing the latest edition of the _Chloe Chronicles_ with Pete. Chloe wondered if she would feel so comfortable in a "real" news setting. She sat back and sighed again. She'd definitely have to give up her Wall of Weird angles if she wanted to work for the _Planet_. Maybe she could work for the _Inquisitor _and do a service to government agencies like the fictional "Men in Black" movie. Just because it seemed improbable, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. She rolled her eyes. As if she would be satisfied with anything less than one of the top newspapers in the country. You know, it didn't even have to be the _Planet_. She could move to Gotham or Edge City. There wasn't any real reason why not to…

Chloe shook her head. Yeah, it was the end of their junior year and definite plans needed to be started for the future, but she had a paper to run and assignments to hand out… Plus, she needed to stop that gorgeous farm boy from trashing her furniture and hand in his assignment. For crying out loud, she was positive that it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. He was just a perfectionist at heart... just like her. She smiled and looked at the possible subject material. Maybe she should start another board so she didn't have to do it official like. They could just see what she wanted them to do and they'd trot off to do it. Definitely give her more time to do the research she likes best... Hmmm… One more thing to think about after she tells Lana her assignment is to do an indepth study into the food in the cafeteria. Chloe was certain that it didn't contain any real nutritional value. Chloe smiled to herself evilly. Even though Lana was her friend now, it didn't make it any less amusing to give her stories that are almost guaranteed to get her dirty… Oh, was she bad!

_**Author's Post-Script:** So did you like it? I know that it's small, but if encouraged, we could go further into the articles and what trouble they get into. Wouldn't that be fun? smile (Seriously, just nod and smile at the crazy woman!)_


	2. Chapter 2 Assignment time, part 2

**A/N:** Thank you, The Die Hard & autumngold, for your kind reviews. Let's see if this is evil and cruel enough for ya'!

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing, but ya' gotta' love Smallville! You go, WB!

Chloe looked at the guys. What to do… What to do… She wasn't ready yet for her next jaunt with Pete, so she needed something for all of them to do. Unfortunately, there hadn't been a meteor related incident in weeks… probably months. So she needed something interesting to fill the pages. She smiled to herself and gave a mental evil laugh. She just wasn't in the mood to give them all assignments that would make their day. Hmmm… Suddenly inspiration hit.

"Pete…" she started, getting everyone's attention after Lana had left.

"What's up, Chlo? Girls' basketball? Cheerleading tryouts?" His hopeful grin tried to make her feel guilty, but failed miserably.

"Well, I was talking to my dad and, apparently, they're researching starting another major department in the plant."

"And that's news?" Pete's face looked as if he'd just smelled his football shoe.

"Well, it's news if it's going to bring more jobs to town. More jobs means more people may be moving here… Which means there will be more demand for real estate… Which means more families may be moving to the area…"

"Which means it is news for our local high schoolnewspaper." Pete sighed. "So you want me to interview your dad about the reality of it all?"

This time Chloe actually laughed out loud. Luckily for her, it wasn't _too_ evil sounding. "Why would you interview my dad, Pete? Everything he knows, I can get during dinner."

Pete looked at her in confusion and she almost couldn't wait for the horror to dawn in his eyes. "So what am I supposed to do to get the story?"

"Interview Lex, of course."

"Lex? Lex Luthor?!?"

"Do you know any other Lex Luthors in town, Pete?" She smiled and sat back to watch the fun.

Pete didn't disappoint. He gaped at her like a drowning fish, eyes darting from side to side, looking for any way out. "But why me?" he demanded. "Surely Clark…"

"Clark has had way too many articles regarding Lex assigned to his byline." Chloe replied firmly. "If we don't have someone else report on Mr. Luthor occasionally, people will start to think there's something fishy going on."

"Chloe!" Clark gasped in outrage.

"What do you want me to say, Clark?"

"How could you think…? I mean, what would make you think that Lex and I were having that type of relationship?!?" Clark blushed even at the thought.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Clark, you're one of my best friends. Why would I even assume you were gay? You don't have the fashion sense."

Clark looked down at his trademark flannel shirt and jeans. "What's wrong with what I wear?"

Chloe stopped herself from rolling her eyes again. She definitely wasn't in the mood for the "face freezing that way" myth her aunt used to spout at her. She needed a new look. Maybe she'd practice one later… "Clark, you're a farm boy and there's nothing wrong with that. I just don't know many gay men that have that much plaid in their closet. Let me put it this way, sweetie. If we lived in New York, the Fab 5…"

"Fab 5?" Clark looked at her in confusion.

"Oh, my gosh! Don't you have cable? The Fab 5! 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'? OK, I'll come over and initiate you one day. Anyways, this isn't about you." She turned to Pete who'd been following the conversation as if it was his lifeline. She knew that he'd been hoping that she'd get so distracted that she'd forget his assignment. _Fat chance!_ she thought, evil laughter in her mental soundtrack. _Not today, buddy!_ "I'll throw you a bone, Pete." He breathed a sigh of relief. It was too bad she couldn't tell him that it was too soon to think he was off the hook. "I'll let you get the basic info from my dad before you interview Lex." She squinted her eyes in thought. "I'm looking for something hard hitting. Something with a new angle. We all know that on the outside it looks like it'll be good for the community, but sometimes what the Luthors think will be good for the community and what is actually good for the community is something entirely different." She smiled at him. "I think you're up for it…"

Pete looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Did I do something to you recently that you're bound and determined to make me pay for? Did I spill coffee on you and forget about it? Did I blow you off for a date?"

Chloe laughed. "Do you really think I'm that petty?"

"I wouldn't have thought so before, but…"

"Pete, listen. I need a fresh outlook on LuthorCorp. Like I said, Clark's had to do those articles to death and Lex won't even talk to me. Thinks I'm going to blow some scandal wide open…" Chloe smirked. "It's kinda' flattering, actually. But you, my friend, aren't going to be seen as a threat. That and he would be expecting Clark, so might be thrown off by your presence and let something slip."

"You're not going to let me get out of this one, are you?"

"Nope. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Normally, I would say no, but I'd never hear the end of it."

Chloe nodded decisively. "That is totally true. And I would take pleasure in telling it to every girl you even think about introducing to me. You appointment is at 5:30 tomorrow afternoon. My dad's expecting you in his office for the background interview. But if I hear that you didn't make that meeting after I went to all the trouble of making it…" She looked at him in her most severe manner and Pete blanched at the implied threat.

He held up his hands in surrender. "You've got me. I'll do it. I won't be happy, but I'll be there. Anything specific you want me to ask him?"

Chloe thought about it for a moment. "I don't make it a habit of force-feeding questions to my reporters, Mr. Ross. But if you're desperate for a question, just ask boxers or briefs. I'm sure our female audience is dying to know."

Pete's eyes widened in horror. "Are you kidding?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding? Now why don't you get to work before I think of any more questions that you could ask." Pete shook his head and quickly gathered up his books. He knew when he was beaten.

Chloe's evil laugh threatened again. It was a beautiful day and could only get better. Clark looked at her with those wide baby blues and she almost felt guilty… Well, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, doesn't it?

**A/N:** So tell me… Did I maintain Chloe's character? I threw in the Clark/Lex jab for all you slashers out there. Please submit some reviews. I would really appreciate it!


	3. Chapter 3 Assignment time, part 3

_**A/N:** Well, although I haven't heard from anyone yet sob,I've decided to muddle through. Now it's time for Clark's assignment!_

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, absolutely nothing! All ideas are just pieced together from "Smallville"… a show you can't help but love!_

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Clark looked at her and his eyes narrowed. Chloe shivered a little. Sometimes it was like Clark could look straight through her. "So, what evil assignment do you have for me, Chloe?" Clark said, looking for all the world as if he'd just given up his favorite flannel shirt.

Chloe sat back and blinked. "What do you mean, Clark?" She widened her eyes and started to blink, praying that it made her look innocent of all wrong-doing.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Chloe, will you stop that! I've known you since we were 12 and all that look does is make you seem psychotic."

Chloe grimaced. _I knew that time in front of the mirror hadn't helped that look. _She wondered how she could perfect that innocent, butter-won't-melt-in-my-mouth look that Clark had down pat. _Well, normally I would just come clean, but I don't wanna'!_ She pouted a little, and Clark's knowing look turned into one of panic. _Gotcha! Every time I turn on a feminine wile, you freak out. You are so easy, Clark Kent!_

"OK, Chloe. Sock it to me." You could tell by the look on his face that he was waiting for the worst.

"Oh, my gosh! You've been watching Nick at Night, haven't you?" Chloe's infectious chuckle bubbled to the surface. Chloe could tell that she'd just thrown her favorite farm boy for a loop.

"Stop stalling, Sullivan." Clark tried his "bad cop" look. Chloe shook her head. If he knew all her looks, she definitely knew all of his. She sat and looked at him for a few minutes. The staring contest continued until Clark broke it with a sigh. "Fine, if you want to raise the tension and suspense, I wouldn't want to ruin anything that pleases you. I'll just be over here working on my article."

"Anything new on the girls' hockey front?" Chloe found that she was actually curious about it. She definitely wasn't a sports fanatic, but their team had been doing pretty well this year.

"Oh, it was awful. We lost 10 to 1… and it was a play-off game! They totally choked, but you can't really say that, can you?" Clark turned hopeless eyes to his monitor.

"Why not, if it's true?"

Clark looked at her incredulously. "Not only would it hurt their feelings, but…" He blushed and looked down.

"Clark, are you interested in one of the girls?" Chloe was so thankful that she could finally ask that question without the pain that had filled their first couple of years in high school. It wasn't that she didn't still think Clark was still a beautiful individual that any female in her right mind wouldn't sell her soul to date, but they were friends and it was obvious that Clark was never going to feel that way about her. She'd moved on, thank goodness!

Clark's head snapped up, his eyes wide.

_Now that's the look I want!_ Chloe thought petulantly. _Why is it so effortless for him???_

"No way!" he protested, hands held up in surrender. "I'm finally getting used to being single again. I'm not ready for another failed relationship."

"Clark, there are so many things wrong with that statement!" Chloe lifted her hand and ticked off each reason. "First off, not all of your relationships are doomed for failure. Second, you and Lana dated for what? 2 seconds? That a relationship doesn't make. Third, why wouldn't you want to date one of our famous girls' hockey players?"

"They aren't my type. They're way too into their sport… and it seems that it's all they're able to talk about. I'd like to have an intelligent conversation about the world sometimes."

Now Chloe's eyes widened in disbelief. Could her Clark be branching out into the real world? Actually interested in more than Smallville? She rubbed her eyes and looked at her coffee cup. Was she caffeine deprived? Was that the cause for this audio hallucination? "You're kidding, right?"

Clark looked at her in puzzlement, one eyebrow cocked higher than the other. "Why would I be?" He smiled and Chloe felt herself melt.

_Oh, he's good, _she thought in a daze. Sure she wasn't interested in him anymore, but he was still a beautiful specimen and that smile always got to her.

"You've ruined me, Chloe," he replied to her silence. "Every day I come in here or hang with you at the Talon and we have intelligent conversation where you challenge me. How could I possibly go back to anything that's one sided?"

"One sided?" Chloe shook her head. She was feeling slightly lightheaded under the full force of that smile. It wasn't a grin and it wasn't a smirk. A buzzing sounded in her ears and she had to listen very hard to catch his reply.

"You know, like they only know about sports… or only know about fashion… It's redundant and tiring, really. And usually if you challenge their viewpoint, they either cry or punish you in some other way." He rolled his eyes in exasperation, the memory momentarily pushing his smile to the side.

Chloe took a deep breath. Had she stopped breathing and that's why there'd been buzzing in her ears? How peculiar. "You flatter me, Mr. Kent. OK, fine. But this still doesn't explain why you don't want to do a hard hitting expose on the meltdown of our fallen champions."

Clark looked glumly at the screen. "Have you ever crossed any of those girls, Chloe?" She looked at him in disbelief and he smiled in self-derision. "Of course you have. OK, then you know those girls are mean when their performance is called into question." He shuddered.

This time Chloe couldn't help it. She threw back her head and laughed… and laughed… and laughed until tears started running down her face. "Clark, you're _afraid_ of a bunch of girls?"

Clark looked offended. "They're _hockey players_, Chloe. That's the meanest sport around!"

"Clark, I love you like a brother, but you are the biggest pansy!" Chloe breathed in and wiped her eyes. Heavens that felt good!

"Maybe I am," he muttered. "Or maybe it's my excuse so I don't have to hurt their feelings." He sighed as she smiled. "I just want to do your paper justice, Chloe, and the article I want to write won't be the hard hitting expose you're famous for."

_Goodness, this boy is sweet. How he survived this long in this meteor-freak infested town is anyone's guess. I guess it's a good thing I've never permanently gotten on his bad side._ "OK, Kent," she said, shuffling some ideas in front of her to gather her thoughts. "You have surprisingly jostled me out of my vindictive streak today. So you get two assignments."

"Two?" Clark looked at her as if she'd just kicked his imaginary dog. "I thought you said I got you out of your vindictive streak?"

"Well, you haven't heard the assignments yet, have you?" Chloe smiled. OK, so she was still vindictive, but this way it _seemed_ like she was being nicer.

"You're right. Lay it on me, boss." Chloe watched Clark draw in a breath and hold it. She almost burst into laughter again, but managed to control herself.

"You don't have to submit an article for this week's Torch. But don't get too relaxed. First of all, you and I are going to put our feelers out around town to see if anything interesting has come up. It wouldn't be the first time that a Wall of Weird story hasn't fallen in my lap."

Clark let his breath out in a rush. Chloe felt her chair move backwards in the wind that suddenly kicked up. She looked around curiously. "Darn over-enthusiastic air conditioner," Clark muttered, giving Chloe his innocent look.

She looked at him through narrowed eyes. It was a plausible explanation, but she knew there was another explanation that should have hit her upside the head but he was hiding it from her. _Like that's anything new!_

Clark cleared his throat, obviously trying to turn Chloe's attention from him. "So what's the second thing?"

"Second thing?"

"Well, you said 'First of all'… That usually implies a 'second of all'." Clark smiled at his obvious joke.

Chloe returned his smile, but added a vindictive twist to it. "Well, second of all, I've decided I want you to headline a new article series. You seem to have your finger on the hormonal pulse of our little school. So you've been elected to be the author of an advice column." Clark's gasp of horror was all the payment she needed.

_**A/N:** In this installment, I've made Clark more intelligent. I just couldn't help with the Slashers out there. Instead of being stupid, I would prefer looking at the last chapter of him being innocent and naïve, OK? So, what do you think? Is Chloe being too evil?_


	4. Chapter 4, Pete's assignment, part 1

_**Summary:** Pete's assignment. How will he handle doing a civil interview with Lex? Will Lex be accommodating or will he put blocks in Pete's way? Will Pete change is mind about Lex?_

_**A/N:** So I allowed myself to get distracted today. I discovered a website like where you can write screenplays. I'm beside myself with excitement, but this story has captured a lot of my interest too, so I promise to try and keep it updated… until I finally finish it!_

_I'm also wondering if Pete's assignment will be multi-chaptered like Lana's has become or if it'll be fairly straightforward. I guess Pete will tell me in his own time…_

_**Disclaimer:** I will say again that I have no claim to anything in Smallville… besides being a fan of it._

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Pete had practically bolted down the hallway of school before Chloe came up with any more questions for him. "Boxers or briefs?" Pete shuddered at the thought that he may just have to ask the question so Chloe wouldn't harass him anymore. Maybe if he did a really good job with this interview, she wouldn't have him do anymore Luthor-centered articles. One could only hope.

He hopped into his Ford Falcon. Well, the best defense was a good offense, as his football coaches tried to remind them at every practice. _Oh, crap! Idon't have a good offense! I'm 'fesne-less!_ He slapped his hand to his forehead and then rested it against the steering wheel for a moment. He would have laughed at his own joke if it wasn't so true. He gazed blankly across the parking lot, apparently looking at the scoreboard on the field.

_OK, the assignment sucks, but if you go back and told Chloe you aren't going to do it, she'd never let you hear the end of it._ Pete sighed heavily. His best friend wasn't one to let a juicy guilt tidbit go just because he was tired of hearing about it. He shook his head. _So you're not going to let her down. Do you have a game plan?_ Pete grimaced. He wasn't really a plan kinda' guy. He was more a fly by the seat of my pants and hoping they didn't drop around his ankles teen. But that wasn't going to cut it this time. _OK, Chloe said her dad was expecting me at the plant. That's a start. My appointment with Lex is tomorrow at 5:30. Check._ He smiled that he hadn't actually forgotten anything Chloe had told him. There had to be a first for everything. He started up his car and turned it in the direction of the plant. No need to keep Mr. Sullivan waiting.

Pete walked into the plant with a few reservations. He hadn't had many opportunities to tour here since Earl Jenkins had taken them all hostage. Even though his work with Chloe was helping him see the man behind the gun, the plant and what it hid gave him the creeps. He took a deep breath and forged on. He wasn't going to start acting like a coward now.

The receptionist looked up at him as he entered. "May I help you?"

"Dude!" he whispered under shocked breath. She was stunning. It just wasn't fair that all the hot girls in town always seemed to either go after or work for Lex. _You would think that karmic retribution would get him at some point!_ "Um, yeah. I'm Pete Ross. My friend, Chloe Sullivan, set up an interview between…"

"With Mr. Luthor tomorrow at 5:30," she said. He was amazed that she didn't even have to look at her calendar for that information.

"Um, right. Tomorrow." His hormones were starting to rise and thinking was becoming difficult. Why was her shirt so low cut?

The secretary smiled broadly. Pete wondered fuzzily if she knew the reaction she was having on him. "So, Mr. Ross… What are you doing here today?"

"Today?" Pete shook his head. _Get it together, man! She's way out of your league!_ "Right. Chloe also arranged for me to talk with her dad. Is he available?"

This time the receptionist did look down. _Obviously, she's just keeping track of Lex. Lucky bastard._ "Mr. Sullivan just went on a quick tour of the new facility. He should be back momentarily." She continued to consult her computer screen. "He did note down that you were expected. If you wouldn't mind just signing in…" She extended a clipboard and pen to him.

He grabbed it as if it was a life line of sorts. _Right, sign in. That makes this official. Got it._ "So, what should I do now?" He really wished he could get himself together. Yeah, he was a teenager, but this was taking his hormones to a whole new level.

"Well, here's your security badge. I've e-mailed Mr. Sullivan's secretary to come and show you the way to his office." With one last smile, she diverted her attention from him and concentrated on something on her screen.

Pete felt vaguely dismissed. He wasn't very keen on the idea, but there was nothing he could do about it. He felt vaguely betrayed by nature that he wasn't taller, although he did have a nice build. Thankfully he didn't have much time to dwell on these feelings of inadequacy. "Mr. Ross? I'm Clarise, Mr. Sullivan's secretary. If you'll just follow me, I'll take you up to his office. He apologizes for not being here but an little emergency came up."

Pete stood up and quickly followed her out of the room. Anything that got him away from the embarrassment of that way too attractive receptionist was a relief. "Nothing too serious, I hope."

Clarise turned at smiled at him. She seemed like a really nice lady… Kinda' reminded him of his mom. "Off the record, I hope."

Pete laughed. "Unlike Chloe, reporting and caffeine doesn't flow through my veins. I'm just hoping everyone's okay."

Clarise laughed. "Oh, that is such the description of Chloe. You're very amusing."

Pete blushed. "Well, I try. I've found that you can be too serious in life."

"So you can." She smiled brightly. "Well, here we are. Why don't you make yourself comfortable? Would you like a soda or a coffee?"

"A root beer would be terrific," he replied. "Unlike my friend, I still have hopes of growing so I've been cutting down on the caffeine intake."

"Smart boy. Just give me a second." She bustled out of the office and left him to his own devices.

Pete looked around. It was a comfortable office. There were lots of pictures of Chloe… both with her dad, with Pete and/or Clark and solo. It was like a little Chloe shrine. He smiled until a sudden thought drained it off of his face. _She totally distracted me away from my question. Do they teach evasion techniques in Luthor Corps new employee orientation?_

He wasn't allowed to dwell on it too long. The door opened and his reason for being there entered. "Pete! Nice to see you! Hope Chloe didn't twist your arm too hard to come and see her old man…" Gabe Sullivan smiled. He knew Chloe's tendency to force people to her will intimately. Thankfully for her, he trusted her to make good decisions and discipline wasn't too harsh in his household.

"Sir, thanks for seeing me on such short notice." Pete had turned at the sound of the door opening and held out his hand.

Gabe smiled wider and slapped Pete's soda into his hand. "I know you're on official business, Pete, but there's no need to stand on formality." He went around to his desk and sat down. "I know Chloe thinks I know most of what's going on around here, but the new project is way beyond my bailiwick."

"You're what?" Pete gaped at Gabe as if all his oxygen had been cut off.

"So sorry. My extensive reading comes out again. It means my area of expertise." Gabe laughed and waved Pete to his seat. "I tend to do that and then Chloe calls me a braniac. Silly, but true." He picked a file up and handed it to Pete. "This is the press packet for the new plant… Plant 7."

Pete grabbed the file. This was terrific. He wouldn't have to remember every little thing Mr. Sullivan would tell him. He'd forgotten his pad of paper in his car. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Sullivan! So, what is gonna' happen in Plant 7?" He smiled. "I know I could read all about it, but I was wondering if you could give me the Cliff's Notes version."

Gabe grinned. "Chloe would say you're cheating, but I don't mind." He leaned forward and Pete could feel the enthusiasm radiating from the man. "Lex was tipped on a new energy producer that converts waste to fuel. He's bought the patent and the plant is going to continue research. It's really quite fascinating."

"Wow! It sounds like it. But is Lex worried about any backlash from the power companies? I mean, it may not be that big a deal in Smallville, but if it becomes general, he'd probably have some severe complaints and competition."

Gabe grimaced. "I know. But he doesn't seem to be too worried about it. You could ask him, of course. But just imagine a system that could take waste and break it down to its element components. There would be no need for junkyards anymore. They could take that waste and convert it to energy. Soon we would have an energy surplus."

It really did sound good… maybe too good to be true. "I have a ton of questions, Mr. Sullivan, but if I ask them all of you, I'd have nothing else to ask Lex and Chloe would never forgive me." They both laughed. There was no denying that fact. Pete held up the file and stood up. "Mr. Sullivan, I really appreciate this."

"Anything to help a fellow subject of my daughters," Gabe chuckled. He held out his hand. "Good luck with your interview, Pete."

"Yeah, I got a lot of homework to do before tomorrow. I'll see ya' later, Mr. Sullivan." With that, Pete left the office. _This really sounds too good to be true for a Luthor scheme,_ he thought sullenly. _There has to be more to this than meets the eye._

_**

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A/N: So for those of you that have read my little story… Do you think the chapters are too short? I wanted them a little more than a screen, but in short enough snippets that you don't spend 30 minutes reading one chapter. Some input into this would be greatly appreciated… And general reviews, as always, are appreciated.**_

_I have also just realized while writing this chapter that technically if Martha is running the Talon, Pete shouldn't be working at the Torch because he and his mom moved away. I guess we'll just have to say that this is an alternate universe or the summer before he moves… Oooo! That sounds good!_


	5. Chapter 5, Pete's assignment, part 2

_**Summary:** Pete's assignment. Will Pete just do a fluff piece or will he finally get into the assignment? Plus, what's up with the beautiful receptionist?_

_**A/N:** Well, I'm slightly disappointed that no one else has written in a review. Is it that terrible? Maybe I need to change my story summary._

_**Disclaimer:** I no have anything to do with Smallville… other than fan fic. I own nothing._

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The next morning, Pete woke up early so he could talk to someone in Town Hall about the project before his interview with Lex. Mr. Sullivan was a great guy but for some reason, he was totally loyal to his employer. Was it that he wouldn't see that his boss might be doing something wrong or that he couldn't? Pete knew there was more to this story. It sounded too good to be true. What was Lex hiding?

As soon as the doors opened at Town Hall, Pete was inside asking to see the Commissioner of Public Works. He was taken to the doorway of Ms. Larsson and announced. He was rather lucky that his mother was a judge in this town and everyone knew who he was. She had offered to get him the information, but surprisingly he'd turned her down. "Pete Ross," Ms. Larsson said, a wide smile on her face. "What are you doing here so early?"

Pete looked at the older woman and smiled. _She really is very pretty_, he thought quickly. _If I was only 10 years older…_ "Oh, I've been assigned a story for our school paper and I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something."

Ms. Larsson's eyes narrowed. "Oh, right. The paper that a Chloe Sullivan edits."

Pete cocked his eyebrow at her in an inquiring way. "Um, yeah. That's the one. Only high school paper in town." _I wonder what Chloe's done to this lady…_

A thin smile crossed her face. "Well, I have nothing to hide." She sat behind her desk and crossed her arms. Pete could tell that she was feeling really defensive. He just wished he knew why. "What's your question?"

Pete decided he should try charming. The more flies analogy never seemed more appropriate. He smiled brightly. "I was wondering if you had any information on the new plant Luthor Corp is opening in the next couple of months."

She gaped at him for a moment. "Why are you asking me? I would have thought you would have asked the growth and development manager. The only thing I've been working on with Luthor Corp is their successful bid on the garbage service in Smallville."

Pete looked at her blankly. "Garbage service? Lex has obtained the garbage service contract? Why would he do that?" Her eyes narrowed again. "I apologize. I was just thinking aloud for a moment. It surprised me that a fertilizer plant would be interested in also working in the garbage industry. Could you tell me why they got the contract?"

Ms. Larsson smiled. "Well, I'll tell you that our landfill seems to be getting slightly out of hand. Mr. Luthor had some rather ingenious ideas on how to organize it. He even guaranteed that the price of the service wouldn't rise, even with inflation. The Council was very impressed with his ideas and initiative, so he was granted the contract. It is a lucrative investment."

Pete shook his head. There was something he was missing. He just needed to think about it. He stood and offered her his hand. "Thank you, Ms. Larsson, for your time. Well, I should probably get going so I won't be late for class."

"You're very welcome, Mr. Ross. I hope that your article goes well." It didn't take long before he was ushered out of her office and the door shut firmly behind him.

_I'm missing something, I know it._

The question bothered Pete all day. During his free period, he took off for the Torch and looked at the documentation that Mr. Sullivan had handed him. He knew he was missing something. Why would Lex have obtained the garbage contract? The city was pretty small, so it didn't need the large start-up capital that other cities would. He poured over the papers and then it hit him. The new energy creating technology that was being studied at the plant used garbage to obtain the power. In fact, it also produced byproducts like petroleum, base metals, and a common component in fertilizer. If this technology was a success, Luthor Corp would be able to charge twice for the same base product: once for taking the garbage and once for selling back the energy and other products. Pete sat back. It really was quite ingenious.

As he headed for the plant, he shook his head. Here he was, twice in as many days, when all he wanted was to forget this place even existed. Of course, that's not even to mention the overly attractive receptionist that made him feel as if his I.Q. had dropped 100 points. He shrugged. It was an assignment and he wasn't going to chicken out now. He'd faced more dangerous things. Plus, he really wanted to confront Lex with the information he'd been able to gather. Ten to one, he would have a glib excuse for everything, but Pete was going to see if he could get him to slip up.

He walked through the doors confidently. "Pete Ross for Lex Luthor," he informed the receptionist. He knew that she already knew that, but he wanted to place himself fully on professional footing. It helped that he never directly looked at her.

"Certainly, Mr. Ross." The receptionist fairly cooed his name. "If you will just follow me?" She got up and sashayed down the hallway. Pete followed obediently, if a little slowly so he could admire the view, thinking that she walked very well. It really was a good thing she couldn't see his face.

She stopped at some very ornate double-doors after what felt like 20 minutes of walking. She knocked deferentially. "Come," came the clipped greeting. _Now that's the Luthor charm I know so well_, Pete thought snidely.

She opened the door and announced, "Mr. Ross to see you sir."

Pete was just far enough behind to hear Lex's reaction. "Who are you?" He didn't sound very happy.

"Lynette, sir. I'm the new receptionist."

"What happened to Gladice?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

Pete could almost feel the glare from where he was standing. He so didn't want to get in the middle of this so he stood to the side of the door, out of sight. "Gladice… My secretary? She usually brings up my guests…"

"I wasn't sure she was here so late, sir, so I took the liberty of escorting Mr. Ross."

"Did you try and call? And you left the front desk unattended." Lex's voice was flat. "Lynette, I realize you're new, but there are some certain basic protocols our support staff follows. You have just left the front desk unattended, which is a cardinal sin. Who hired you?"

"I was transferred here from Metropolis. I made a special request, sir."

"And who approved the transfer?"

"Your father, sir."

Lex gave an audible sigh. "I see. I don't know why you wanted to transfer Lynette, but you are now terminated. Clean out your desk and be out by 6pm."

"Sir?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No, sir. But…"

"There are no buts here." Pete had to stifle a giggle. "I don't know why my father sent you down here, but you are now officially released from service. If you can get your old job back with my father, that's fine, but you no longer work for me. Now leave and send Mr. Ross in."

Pete slid in as the offended woman stalked out of the office, barely even acknowledging his existence. "Weren't you a little hard on her?"

Lex looked at him consideringly. "Not really. I was fairly certain that she was trying to maneuver into my good graces and when I realized that my father sent her, I knew that she was actually here to spy on me. It serves her right that I send her packing. She wasn't even a particularly good spy."

Pete sat down. _Man, this guy is as hard as nails! Remind me to never really get on his bad side. Oh, crap! That's what I'm here to do._ Pete thought about toning down his questions, but realized that Lex wouldn't do anything too horrible to one of Clark's best friends. "I'm guessing that you know why I'm here…"

Lex smiled. "Of course, Pete. Chloe set up the appointment a week ago with my secretary. I'm actually surprised that she doesn't come and interview me on her own."

Pete was surprised. "It's my understanding that she was told she couldn't interview you. Maybe your secretary heard the rumors about Chloe and decided that it was safer not to have her interview you directly."

Lex laughed. "Gladice is quite the guard of me. It's one of the reasons why I keep her on. She has her foibles, but she's very useful in her own way."

"I guess." Pete shrugged. He wasn't here to get into Lex's regular personality. He was looking for his business secrets… If not secrets, then some answers. "Well, let's get to it. I'm sure you're pretty busy."

Lex shrugged. The motion looked very elegant in his fabulous suit. No teacher would take him to task for that gesture. "Actually, Pete, this is my last appointment of the day. I wasn't sure how much time you were going to need and thought that I'd give you as much as you need."

Pete was surprised. It was a degree of courtesy that he definitely hadn't expected. Suddenly, he yawned and blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from." His face was feeling rather funny… kinda' numb.

Lex nodded in acceptance of his apology. "It's totally okay, Pete. It's probably been a long…" He was interrupted by a jaw cracking yawn of his own. His eyes narrowed. "That's odd."

Pete nodded. "Maybe we should get out of here... Get some fresh air..."

"I agree." They both got to their feet and Pete noticed that Lex was weaving from side to side. Lex bent over and steadied himself on his desk, but Pete could swear that he was still moving.

"Lex, why can't you stand still?"

"It's not me, Pete. You're the one that's tilting crazily."

"That's it. We have to leave." Pete turned to head toward the door when the world seemed to narrow in his field of vision. He staggered forward a couple of steps before he felt himself falling to his knees. _If I could just open the door_… and then the world went black.

_**A/N:** I don't seem to be able to make up my mind. So here's my explanation. I have created my own little universe where Lex & Chloe haven't become friendly, Pete is still around, Martha is working at the Talon and Lionel is not in jail. Just take these as facts and we'll just move on._


	6. Chapter 6, Pete's assignment, part 3

_**Summary:** Pete's assignment continued andLex and Pete are now captured and confined together. Will this change Pete's opinion of him?_

_**A/N:** As my ID description goes, I really do **LOVE** posting on this site. What I don't love is how sometimes it takes forever for updates to get posted. LikeFriday morning I checked and the chapter I included late the night before didn't show up until latethat morning… –groan– I guess I'll have to be patient, but that never was my strong suit._

_**Disclaimer:** How many different ways can I come up with to say that I own nothing of Smallville?_

* * *

Pete woke up slowly to the feeling of being shaken. "Mom, just 5 more minutes. I swear I won't be late for school," he muttered, trying to break away from the irritating hands.

"If only you were that lucky," came a masculine voice.

Pete's eyes snapped open. _That's never a voice I wanted to wake up to._ He groaned as the dim light hit his eyes. "Why do I feel like I was hit with a 2 x 4?"

"We were gassed," Lex said shortly. "I don't know how long we were out."

"Oh, great!" Pete sat up and thought he was going to hurl for a moment.

"Don't throw up," Lex warned. "We don't know how long we're going to be in here."

Pete flushed, anger starting to sweep through his body. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Pete stood up on trembling legs. Apparently, what had been used hadn't worn off entirely yet. It felt like a small breeze could have knocked him over.

Lex smirked and Pete longed to wipe it off of his face with a fist. "How do we know it wasn't because of you? I do seem to remember a certain Ross boy who had been kidnapped before."

"Thanks for reminding me," Pete bit out. _I can't believe that I'm trapped in here with a Luthor! This assignment just can't get any worse!_ He started looking around the room, searching for a way out. _At least we're not tied up,_ he thought morosely.

"I've already looked," Lex sighed. "There's nothing. Not even a loose floorboard. They thought this through very carefully."

"So who have you pissed off lately?" Pete threw over his shoulder, fingers still searching along the walls and door. "I haven't done anything and my mom's been pretty quiet on the controversy front lately, so it's not 'cause of her. It has to be you." A sliver slid into his finger and he bit back a cry of pain. There was no way he was going to show any weakness in this situation. "Where the hell are we?"

"I think we're still near the plant," Lex mused.

"How do you know?"

"I can hear it running in the background… and that's not a scent you easily forget."

Pete had to admit that Lex had a point. It was surprising that they hadn't been moved farther… say out of town. He slid to the ground with a thump. "So, got any good plans on how to get us out of here?"

Lex's lips twisted into a grin. "I have a couple… I'm just trying to work out the fine points of some of the more realistic ones."

"Oh… Good." Pete fell silent. He looked around. _This isn't going to work for me… letting him come up with the plan and me doing nothing. I'm going to go mad if I just wait here and try to be patient or something._ He looked at Lex. The man was just sitting there with a faraway look in his eyes. _Lex is entirely too calm in this situation. I know it isn't his first time, but it's not mine either._ Pete sighed. _At least this time I'm not tied up._

"What did you say?" Lex's concentration was focused solely on Pete, who found the attention rather disturbing.

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Well, not out loud, precisely. More mumbled under your breath. What did you say?"

"Well, I thought at least this time I'm not tied up… You know, in comparison to last time I was kidnapped."

Lex looked shocked. "You're brilliant! They've totally messed up this hand." He looked thoughtful. "Maybe they thought the gas would knock us out longer."

"Maybe." When he didn't get any response, he knew that Lex was back in contemplation mode. "What are we going to do now?"

"We're going to wait." Lex leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Wait. We have to wait. Great. Fine. Just peachy." Pete got up and started to pace.

Lex watched him for a moment and groaned. "If you don't calm down, they're never going to fall for my plan."

"And what would that be exactly?"

"We're going to pretend to be unconscious and then attack when they're vulnerable."

"How long will they take to check on us?"

"I don't know exactly. But they wouldn't leave us untiedfor long. They're going to want to bind us before they think the gas wears off." He closed his eyes again.

Pete was starting to get angry again. "You know, maybe you can just wait for them to come, but I need something to do." He thought about it for a moment. "Maybe we could continue our interview."

"Do we really have to do this _now_?"

"Unless you want me going crazy 'cause I'm bored out of my mind. Remember, I am a teenager. Short attention span and all that."

Lex rolled his eyes. "As if you're a typical teenager, Mr. Ross." He looked at the younger boy. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

"Fine. But at least put your ear against the door. Try and hear for when they're coming."

Pete obediently moved and sat by the door with his head pressed against it. "So… How many more people do you think you'll employ?"

"At the onset, it'll probably be about 30. The system isn't proven yet so it won't go into full production until that happens."

"OK, so if it were in full production, how many?"

"Probably close to a thousand. You have to separate the fuel and then the byproducts."

"And what's in it for you? What drew you to this project?"

"As you may or may not know, I'm trying to improve on the image my father has given Luthor Corp. I want my company to be environmentally friendly and replace outmoded and poisonous other processes."

"I'm sure," Pete said, desperately trying to keep the sneer out of his voice and still listen for their captors. "So could you explain to me why Luthor Corp has obtained the Smallville garbage service contract?"

Lex's jaw dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"Don't think I haven't done my homework, Lex. I know that garbage is what powers your alternative fuel source and you have come up with a way to charge people twice for your services."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Lex said. "I can assure you…"

Pete hissed at him to be quiet. "They're coming."

_**

* * *

A/N: Sailor Serinity 5 – I don't really intend to have too much romance going on in this little fic. Personally, I agree that I like Clark & Chloe together better than Clark & Lana, but I'm starting to get won over by the Chlex-ers. And if you read further, you'll see that Chloe did get an eyeful of our delightful Mr. Kent. I'll have to work on another fic where he's scantily clad more often. Maybe I'll do something Greek-esque…**_

_ForeverTom: Your wish is my command… Of course, if that was really true, well let's just say this chapter would have been up on the boards on Saturday. But my goal is to get it done today (Sunday) and post it. Anything to keep you happy, lovey! –smile–_


	7. Chapter 7, Pete & Lex escape, part 4

_**Summary:** Pete and Lex have been kidnapped, but they have a plan to escape. Will it work?_

* * *

Pete's breaths were coming in short little gasps from the adrenaline coursing through his body. He was certain they could get Lex's plan to work, but were these goons going to be armed? Were they going to be people he knew? And why couldn't they have been a little longer so that he could have gotten every last bit of information about it from Lex? Darn them and their bad timing!

The door creaked open and Pete knew they were inspecting him and Lex for signs of consciousness. They had arranged themselves on the floor, but allowed for different positions to be taken. After all, neither of them really knew how they'd been dumped and it was entirely possible that they might have moved in their drug-induced sleep. Pete had taken up position by the door at Lex's insistence. He actually didn't mind too much because he figured if things went extremely sour, he was probably faster than Lex and might be able to get some help.

One set of footsteps passed his head. Lex had warned him not to move, just in case there were more. Pete held his breath as he listened to the steps stop. Then he heard a thud and a groan. Pete's eyes popped open, just in time to see Lex's attacker go down. His nose was bleeding profusely and Pete wondered if Lex had managed to break his nose. Lex turned to Pete to give him the all clear, but then another voice was heard. "You stay right there, Luthor." A gun was pointed at Lex's face.

_This isn't a good sign_, Pete thought.

"I have a gun pointed at me. Why would I try to move?" Considering the situation, Pete thought Lex's sarcasm may have been slightly out of place.

The second goon moved into the room. Obviously, he didn't think Pete was a threat. Pete watched him cock the gun and knew he had to do something. This was not going as planned. _Well, let's have at it. All that football practice should come in handy…_ He shook his head. No time for thinking. He quietly rose to his knees and launched himself full speed at the goon… taking his knees out from under him. Pete rolled to his feet, fists raised. A hand touched his shoulder and he twirled around.

"Easy there, Pete. That fall took that guy out. Thanks." Pete wasn't sure Lex looked that happy to be thanking him for saving his life. _Well, the people he owes life debts to is steadily increasing._

"No problem. So, now that we're able to get out, what's the plan?"

"I was thinking get out before someone else comes." Lex grinned at Pete. They laughed shortly as the adrenaline hit their systems full force. "Quick, grab the rope those two brought and we'll tie them up."

"Are you sure about this, man?"

"As sure as I'm ever going to be." Lex grabbed the rope and efficiently hogtied the two goons. Then he started searching through their pockets.

Pete was jumping up and down, his desire to be out of there almost more than he could bear. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

Lex held up a set of keys. "We need to lock them in here. The last thing we need is for them to get out and raise the alarm. We were put out of the way for a reason."

"True enough. Finished?" Lex nodded and they went out the door. Lex turned and locked it before they started racing down a long hallway. "Where are we?"

"I have no idea. Let's just get out of the building and get our bearings. The longer we're in here, the more likely people will hear us."

Lex took the lead, occasionally pausing at intersections to listen. Finally they reached a fairly substantial door and both men had to put their shoulders into it to move. They dashed for the safety of a sparsely wooded area. Pete's head turned from side to side… searching for any signs of pursuit. _There isn't much cover around here. They're going to catch us for sure!_

Not soon enough for Pete's peace of mind, they finally reached the sparse cover of what looked to be an abandoned orchard. "What was that place we left?" Lex asked.

"I have no idea. I didn't even know it was around here."

Lex looked around carefully. "Look. Plant #7 is right over there." He looked over his shoulder as well. "OK, look. There's a farmhouse over there. You go and call for help."

"What are you going to do?"

Lex looked grim. "It's my plant… My project… I'm going to see what they're doing over there."

"How do you know they're actually in the plant?" Pete wasn't looking forward to taking off on his own. Even though Lex wasn't his first choice of companion (visions of girls from school flitted across his mind), it was better than going on his own.

"Because of the vehicles behind it. No one parks there because of security reasons. And all the equipment was finished moving in yesterday. There is no reason for them to be there… other than espionage or sabotage."

"There's always the possibility of you being paranoid."

"True enough, but it's better to be safe than…" Lex grimaced at the overused phrase. "But we're wasting time. Get going." With that, Lex took off towards the plant. Pete used a moment to be impressed by his speed.

_It's amazing that a spoiled white boy could run that fast._ He shook his head and took off for the farm house. But three paces into it were all he took before he skidded to a stop. _Hey, wait a minute! The story is that way, Petey boy! You can't depend on Lex to give you all the dirty details and Chloe will kill you if she finds out that you avoided the best part of this article._ He sighed and turned. He was definitely going to regret this.

_

* * *

A/N: Thank you one and all for your continued support of my little story. It's nearly finished being written and I will continue posting updates nearly every day. Let's put it this way… When you see the Epilogue, you'll know it's the final chapter. Also, can you tell that I'm not a real swearer? ("Darn it to heck anyway!") :D_

_Markmark261, thank you for your continued support. It's true that I think Lana has it too easy sometimes. Oh, sure. She gets death threats, weird stalkers, and possession by a centuries dead witch, but she never gets dirty. The Princess of Pink needed some grime. And of the 3 arms of the story, hers is the most humorous because of the dirt._

_To answer your question about my timeline, there isn't a specific one… the story definitely isn't sequential. In fact, they all run along on their own timelines with no true corresponding time points with the other chapters. I placed Clark in there because with his heightened senses I thought he would be most repelled by the smell. And it turned out pretty well, if I don't say so myself. If you'd like a specific reference point, I'm thinking at this moment that he went back to the Torch after his shopping experience with Chloe._

_Dorawen, I've read a lot of Chlex fan fiction and some of it is well done. I enjoy it and it remains true to the characters. My favs are mainly just having them riff off each other… mostly as just friends. I just think all of them are tooyoung to have any **serious romantic relationship** that would last past a bit of time in college. These characters don't seem to be the high school sweetheart types._


	8. Chapter 8, Conclusion of Pete's assignme...

_**Summary:** Pete's assignment - Conclusion _

_**A/N:** If you haven't noticed, the chapters have been slightly reordered. This is the final chapter for Pete and Lex. Hopefully, you'll read it and not skip past it to the last chapter because you've been reading it... You can see that I'm hoping lots of people are reading it... even if I don't get their reviews... because I don't always review everything I read on here, so I guess that's my failing..._

* * *

Pete ran for all he was worth towards Plant #7. _This is not good… This is not good…_ was his mantra. But he didn't allow that thought to stop him. As he reached the door, he paused, listening for any signs of people beyond the door and pursuit behind him. _Pete, get a hold of yourself! You have to be here. You know you do. But the first thing you'll do is you'll step into an office and call the cops. Then you won't have totally gone against the plan._ He nodded decisively to himself. He opened the door and ducked in.

It was a large warehouse with doors lining one side. There was all the typical equipment you expected to find in a warehouse. There were the forklifts, winches, backhoes, dump and garbage trucks and other machinery he knew nothing about. It didn't go with his image of energy producing equipment, but what did he really know, after all? He looked back towards the doors. _OK, Petey boy. Just go to the first door and duck in. You're looking for an office with a phone, remember?_

Slowly, he crept toward the nearest door. Every squeak of his shoes made him wince in anticipation of being jumped by an imaginary hulking foe. _Why does it always seem to be that when you are trying to sneak around you inevitably make noise?_ he wondered agonizingly. _It's like it would be better for you just if you just run for it. Maybe I'd make less noise…_ He shook his head. Of course he was pondering the unimportant issues in life when he could be faced with death around the next corner...

He reached the door and took a deep breath. Grasping the handle, he turned it slowly. He mentally thanked Lex for maintaining a good janitorial department that kept the doors well greased. Slipping inside, he rested against the door for a moment. Looking on the desk against one wall, he could have cried when he saw no phone there. He wanted to scream in frustration, but knew that wouldn't help and would only put him in greater danger. He looked around the room, trying to look for something that might be used for a weapon. Two cabinets with an odd sized gap between them caught his eye. He walked over to it and almost sobbed in relief. A phone! Someone was looking out for him!

He lifted the handle and pressed 9-1-1. While the phone rang, his foot jiggled impatiently. He looked out the small window to the trees. He didn't see any movement and wondered why his gut twisted in response. _It's quiet. Too quiet…_ Finally, the phone was answered and he took a deep breath to start confessing the situation he found himself in. A cold piece of metal pressed against his spine and he stiffened. "Drop it," came a menacing, but decidedly female, voice.

He obeyed and heard the phone clatter against the floor. "What do you want with me?" he practically shouted, praying that the operator would remain on the line to hear their conversation.

Her laughter chilled his blood. "You, Mr. Ross? What could I possibly want with a wet behind the ears high school student? But if you hadn't managed to get me fired, you wouldn't have been in the office with Lex Luthor, would you?"

Pete's mind raced. "Lynette the receptionist?" He wanted to twirl around to look at her, but knew that would not go over too well with the obviously crazed clerical worker.

"As far as you know…" she gritted. "It's too bad that you hadn't just gone to that abandoned farmhouse like you'd started to. I was really annoyed when I saw you change directions. I had to take care of you instead of allowing George to. Irritating! Now get moving." She moved the gun slowly to his back and grasped his arm, directing him to the door.

He wanted to resist… to stay where the operator just may hear the trouble he was in. But he definitely wasn't willing to get himself shot over it. He followed her directions deeper into the plant. Her breathing sounded harsh behind him and he wondered how he could have ever found her attractive. Obviously she was mental… and not just in a "I want to be the next Mrs. Luthor" way. They entered the main room where an odd-looking piece of machinery lay. It had tubes coming out of it, but looked fairly simple with one tank and tubes coming out of it.

"Let him go," a voice to the right of the machine sounded. Pete breathed a sigh of relief, but remained tense.

"Lex!" Pete shouted. "Get out of here! She has a gun!"

"I'm fully aware of that, Pete." Pete could visualize the smirk that undoubtedly crossed his face. "She's not the only one."

Pete felt the gun jab him from behind. "This isn't 'catch up with each other' time. You can't shoot me, **_Mister_** Luthor, without shooting your friend."

"What do you want… whoever you are?" Lex drawled. He still hadn't shown himself and his voice was echoing about the chamber like he was moving to find a better position.

She laughed and Pete thought it sounded slightly hysterical. "You don't even remember me, do you? And we just met officially today."

"I don't make it a habit to make friendly with the hostage takers. And why would I remember your name? You're not working for me anymore."

"I never was working for you." Pete was pushed farther into the room. His arm was released, but the gun was still firmly pressed against his flesh. "This machine is an abomination. It cannot be permitted."

Lex laughed. "You're not going to try and pass this off as a holy crusade, are you? Give me a little more credit than being gullible enough to believe that."

"You are good, Mr. Luthor." Pete heard the stiff smile in her voice. "It's not a holy crusade. I work for the oil and energy concerns out there and they will not allow this project to continue. You would force them out of business within 2 years. Do you know the number of jobs that would destroy? Do you even care?" Another bark of laughter was heard. "Of course you don't. You're just in it for the money!"

"And your concerns aren't?" Pete wondered if it was hopeful thinking that Lex's voice sounded like it was nearer.

"Don't try and moralize this with me!" she shouted. "But I've got no further time to talk with you about this. At first, I was going to leave your dear friend in here to fry with the machines, but apparently I need him as a shield. And this is actually better."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm sure you've been in here long enough to notice the explosives welded to each and every part of that monstrosity. It's going up in flames and you're not going to get out of here. If you follow us, I'll shoot your friend and while you're trying to save him, I'll escape and blow you both up."

"Whoever said Mr. Ross was my friend?" Lex sneered. "He's just annoying me for an interview for the high school paper. What makes you think I wouldn't just leave him?"

"And risk the bad PR?" It was obvious to Pete that she was trying to match Lex's sneer, but she didn't have the practice and he could hear the uncertainty start to creep into her voice.

"What bad PR? Terrorists blew up the plant. It's my word against yours. Simple enough."

"Fine, let's just try that out, shall we?"

Pete felt the gun being cocked and closed his eyes. This was it. He was not going to make it out to tell the story. A shot sounded and he felt a searing pain in his arm. He was confused because the report sounded further away than he'd expected. He could feel blood dripping down his arm, but was slightly confused because the gun at his back was no longer there. He stood there, wobbling slightly. He wondered why his knees hadn't collapsed yet.

"Pete, come on!" Lex's urgent voice was in his ear and his uninjured arm was being tugged.

Pete focused on Lex and then looked around. Lynette was lying on the ground, bleeding from her abdomen. "What happened?"

"I was able to shoot her before she shot you."

"You shot me!"

"A flesh wound in the arm is better than a shot in the abdomen that could puncture your organs."

"But you shot me!"

Lex growled and pulled at Pete harder. Pete found his legs starting to move. "We have to get out of here. I have her detonator, but I don't think she's the only one that has one."

"Crap!" Pete tried to get his legs to move faster.

They were almost at the door when they heard her. "You'll never make it out of here," came the whisper. Pete didn't even bother to turn towards her voice. They raced through the warehouse, desperately trying to make it to the outer door. Then they heard it. An explosion sounded in the bowels of the plant followed by the rushing roar of flames. Lex kicked open the door to one of the offices and threw Pete and then himself inside. He just had time to slam the door shut and get both of them to the outside window as the glass shattered in the door behind them and the force of the flames and heat slammed their bodies through the window.

* * *

When Pete woke up, he looked about. _A hospital room? A hospital room! We made it!_

"We certainly did, Pete." Pete turned and saw Lex lounging against the doorframe. His face was covered with small cuts and his skin was pink with what looked like slight burns. His hands were wrapped in bandages and he winced as he walked further into the room.

"The plant?"

"Gone. We have back-up plans, but the world may not be ready for the process yet. I'd hate to have to go through something like that again."

"True enough. But what are you going to do with the garbage contract?"

Lex laughed. "Oh, I didn't make the garbage contract. That was all my father and his cronies. They'll get to do all the clean-up."

Pete laughed as well, wincing at the pain of his jostled arm. Then he groaned. "Chloe's going to kill me! The story's been blown!"

"To say the least," Lex chuckled. "But that doesn't mean you don't have one hell of a story to tell."

Pete's eyes widened in realization and grinned. "So does that mean I can interview you for the new angle, Mr. Luthor?" Lex's eyes widened and his hands came up in defense. Pete started laughing and soon the sound of uncontrollable male laughter rang down the hallway of Smallville Medical Center.

_**

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A/N: Markmark, this is all for you, buddy! I've been thinking and while Lana's part and the stuff with Chloe and Clark are funny, this is all about a mystery and suspense. So I'm adding this final chapter of the Pete saga and then swapping chapters between Lana and Chloe and Clark. Maybe this will help with your interest in Pete's story… :D I figured it was worth a try! ;)** Markmark, this is all for you, buddy!I've been thinking and while Lana's part and the stuff with Chloe and Clark are funny, this is all about a mystery and suspense.So I'm adding this final chapter of the Pete saga and then swapping chapters between Lana and Chloe and Clark.Maybe this will help with your interest in Pete's story… :DI figured it was worth a try! ;)_


	9. Chapter 9, Lana's assignment, part 1

_**Summary: **Lana has to investigate the school cafeteria. Thankfully, she doesn't exactly know why Chloe gave her this particular assignment._

_**A/N:** I'm thinking she should get a little dirty… (muhahaha)_

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, absolutely nothing! All ideas are just pieced together from "Smallville"… a show you can't help but love!_

* * *

Lana sat at the Talon, contemplating her assignment. She was so glad that she'd joined the Torch's staff. It made her feel as if people now expected her to have more brains than when she'd been a cheerleader. It gave her more of an identity. Something besides "cheerleader extraordinaire" or "Whitney's ex". And her friendship with Chloe was also something to be treasured. It wasn't often that Chloe Sullivan decided to make nice with another girl. Lana knew why, of course. It couldn't be easy to be so driven in what was typically a male-oriented field.

She thought about her assignment. Investigating the nutritional value of the school's food, wasn't top on her list of great things to do, but she didn't think Chloe would have given her the assignment if there wasn't the confidence that Lana could complete it. It was nice, having someone believe in you. She was relieved that working at the Talon was so automatic now. She found herself taking orders, smiling, and greeting people she knew while most of her brain could focus on another situation entirely. It really was rather amazing.

So, how to address this issue? Coming out and accusing the school of neglecting their students would do it. First, she needed to discover who was in charge of the cafeteria and get an interview with them. That would give her the school's view of the situation. Then she should interview the cafeteria staff. They would be the ones that would know all of the pertinent information and probably give her the fuel to show the school what they were doing wrong. Really, it seemed rather straightforward, didn't it?

Lana consciously focused her eyes to see if anyone she knew would have the information of the school districts food representative. Then she saw her. She smiled and picked up her coffee pot. She turned her smile up a charm notch and weaved her way between the customers to her target. "Julia," she chirped with a smile. "Do you need a refill?"

The girl looked at her in shock. Lana could almost hear the thoughts as they crossed her face. _I didn't know Lana Lang knew my name! I mean, we have 3 classes together, but we've never really talked. Wow!_ "Lana, you're a mind reader!"

If it was possible, Lana's smile brightened another notch. The girl had no idea how transparent she was. "Oh, no. I can just tell when a customer is going to start looking for a refill. Hey, do you mind if I sit for a minute? My feet are killing me?" Lana was rather proud at how she rattled off that fib like she'd been doing it every day of her life.

"That's great… I mean, sure. Why not?" Julia looked as if Christmas had come early. It wasn't every day she had a popular person looking to spend some quality time with her.

Lana sank onto the sofa beside her. This was going to be a snap! "Thanks a million! I tell you, sometimes it feels like I'm going to wear the leather off the soles of my shoes." She smiled again, trying to keep it from looking too feral. "Say, you're in here rather early. Don't you have an after-school job at the school district office?"

Julia gaped at her. "You know about that?"

Lana laughed, trying to make it sound carefree or tinkling and not triumphant. "Julia, you're always talking to Karen about how interesting it is there." She looked down, wishing she had the ability to blush on command. "I mean, I don't mean to eavesdrop, but it sounds fascinating."

Julia blushed at the complement. She looked around to see if anyone was watching them. _Wait 'til I tell Karen!_ her face screamed to Lana. _Be cool. Be cool!_ "Well, it's not so bad. Mr. McGillicuty is really fascinating. He's doing this study on schools in the Midwest…"

Lana knew she had to cut this off before it became a dissertation. She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she'd heard Julia and Karen talking, but she really didn't need to know everything… Just one small thing… "You know, that's totally fascinating… but I was wondering… Who's in charge of the school lunch system? I mean that must be a totally hard job."

Julia grimaced. "Mr. Peterson? Yeah, I guess he's okay. He's really mean, though. He can't keep any kind of assistant and the ladies there will come to blows rather than help him out. He even yelled at me for not bringing him some report that just happened to be on my table. How was I supposed to know that I wasn't supposed to check it. That's the only reasons why files get put there anyway. I'm supposed to check it for any current correspondence and tag it if it needs a response or file it away."

_Oh, really?_ Lana thought. _This sounds promising…_ "Well, that's really creepy. Did you report him?"

Julia laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right. Like anyone's going to believe the teenage help! I mean, I do good work, but it's not like they couldn't replace me in a heartbeat if I started causing waves."

"That's not right." Lana was feeling slightly guilty for bringing up an obviously sore subject. She hadn't meant to make Julia get upset. "But I understand how you feel. In a town as small as ours, the jobs we teenagers can do are pretty scarce." She patted Julia's hand. "But if he does it again, you owe it to yourself to report it. No one should be able to treat you like that." She smiled at her sudden inspiration. "How about this? If he ever does that to you again, report it. If they fire you, I'll see what I can do to get you hired here."

"Really?" Julia asked breathlessly. "You mean it?"

"Well, I know you don't have any waitressing experience, but you could learn. But don't just quit. I know how much you really like it there."

"Thanks, Lana. Really!" Julia's eyes held stars in them for the support. Lana's guilt receded, but she really hoped the girl wouldn't quit a good job just to work in a coffee house.

"No problem, Julia." She turned and looked over Julia's shoulder. Martha Kent was standing at the counter, which fit into Lana's plans. "Well, I gotta' go, Julia. Mrs. Kent was waving me over. Looks like she needs me for something…"

"No problem. I'll see you in English?" Julia looked very hopeful.

Lana smiled as she got up. "Of course. I'll talk to you later." She turned and walked back to the counter. Julia was a nice enough girl, but she had some really clinging aspects. Lana hoped that it wouldn't get too bad.

At the counter, she smiled in satisfaction, pushing all thoughts of a needy Julia to the side. She had her first lead. Well, she wasn't sure she could call it a "lead" per se, but it was a start. She ticked off the first on her list of things to do. She looked at the clock. If she let this go to long, Chloe would be all over her, wanting to know when it was going to be ready. It was only 4:00. He might even still be in the office. She turned to Martha. "Mrs. Kent, would you mind covering for me? I've got an assignment from Chloe I've got to work on and now may be the only time I can get my interview."

A smile broke Martha Kent's beautiful face. _Gosh, I hope I look that good when I get to be her age,_ Lana thought wistfully. "Of course, Lana. You go right ahead. With the help we have already, I don't think it'll be too much trouble."

"You're the best, Mrs. Kent. I really owe you one!" Lana hurried to get her things together.

"Nonsense, dear. I know Chloe and getting a headstart on any of her assignments is not a bad idea." They both laughed. It was common knowledge that the Torch was Chloe's baby. It was as if she didn't think anyone else could put it together as well as her. Lana admitted ruefully to herself that she may be right. With a final smile to Martha, she bolted out the door.

_**

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A/N: OK, I know that Lana isn't a lot of people's favorite character… she's not really mine either, but that doesn't mean she's unintelligent. Let's look at this logically. Would Chloe really having her working at the Torch if she was a moron?**_

_I would also like to mention that my intention was to have each assignment take a chapter… but now I'm thinking that it may take a little longer. Can you ever forgive me?_


	10. Chapter 10, Clark & Chloe search

_**Summary:** Where would Chloe and Clark go to find "suspicious" things? And what would Chloe normally report on if a meteor freak didn't drop in her lap every week?_

_**A/N:** So I've decided that a second-by-second blow-by-blow isn't good fan fiction. Let's move on. Also, while Pete & Lana's assignments were specific, I wanted to allow Clark & Chloe's mission to be more organic. Unfortunately, it did lead to some delays on my part to get the chapter together. However, there is no need to fear because I outlined where I want them to go during church today. (Gasp! I know! I'm evil!) Now that I have the storyline fleshed out a little, I think the updates will start coming more frequently… But any encouragement is always appreciated!_

_**Disclaimer:** How do you know if you "own" something? Well, usually in Hollywood, you get royalties. Am I getting royalties? As if! Please remember that all characters are owned by the WB. The only thing that's mine is where I keep throwing them all into trouble of my making!_

* * *

Chloe walked out ofschool with Clark hot on her heels. Because she wanted him to come with her to do some dredging for article ideas, she'd helped him finish up his girls' hockey article to his satisfaction. She even allowed him to keep the byline. She glanced up at one of her best friends and smiled. He really was such a sweet guy, but so innocent. It was amazing to see in another person. Actually, it was a relief that she didn't have a crush on him anymore. It made life so much easier… Plus, she'd probably shred him in a week. They were good friends, but their personalities weren't compatible for romance… no matter how much she had wanted it.

Clark looked at her from the corner of his eye. "So, Chlo… As much as I adore being your faithful sidekick following you around like a puppy dog, but where do you plan on getting your big story?"

"Nice alliteration, Clark." She grinned at him. "Well, as we both know, Wall of Weird items seem to occur within pretty regular timeframes. But it doesn't happen every week… and I can't fill our entirely monthly paper with one or two meteor-related incidents. So I have other sources for weird, unusual and just plain newsworthy events." She stood by her car, looking at him expectantly. He was going to ask, she just knew it…

"You do? Who?" Chloe was glad that he didn't look confused, just interested. She smiled and he returned it. "I don't doubt you, Chloe. I guess I always thought your other information came from the internet or the school rumor mill."

"Sometimes it does." Chloe grimaced. "But that's not always the most reliable way to get news and it's always partially out of date." She shrugged, fully knowing that her penchant for knowing the truth as soon as it was available is what had gotten her into so many scrapes.

"So, being the Chloe we all know and love, you have a list of sources you can tap when something doesn't fall in your lap." Clark smiled at her and she smiled back brightly.

"Exactly! Now get in! I set up a time to meet and we need to hurry." She practically shoved Clark towards the passenger side of her car. Laughing, they headed to their scheduled meeting.

"Who's this?" The accusation came from a short gentleman who was unsuccessfully trying to hide behind the dumpster at City Hall.

"Travis, what the heck are you doing?" He hissed at her to be quiet and she rolled her eyes. "Aren't you a little old to be playing this cloak and dagger crap?"

He looked around furtively to see if anyone had noticed them. "It's worth my job to be seen talking to you, Miss Sullivan." Clark grunted… Chloe wondered if he was trying to cover a laugh. She'd been meeting with Travis O'Malley for a couple of years now to find out the exciting ins and outs of Smallville. Personally, she thought he'd watched too many X-Files shows. "I'm serious. You're _persona non-grata _around here, Chloe, ever since you did that article regarding the mayor's habit of skipping meetings in favor of golf or meeting with his current mistress in Metropolis."

"Yeah, yeah. You know that you like taking all the fat cats down a peg or two by giving me the inside scoop. So what do you have for me?" Chloe wondered if it would be any good. She was tired of doing the every day scandal Travis usually dished out. She wanted something with a bit more substance for once.

"The office is all abuzz about the fashion show that's set up for this Saturday. Apparently, there are a lot big names coming in." Travis looked as if he just placed the Holy Grail in her small hands.

Chloe looked at the wall. _The janitors are really messy_, she mused. _They've got garbage up on the wall and they never seem to be able to hit the dumpster on the first try._ She looked at her snitch and shook her head. "That's all you have for me? A _fashion_ show?!? I suppose it's barely newsworthy…" There wasn't going to be anything exciting happening there. It was going to be so boring!

Clark decided this was the moment to speak. "Hardly, Chlo. You'll be bored out of your mind!"

"Not really," Travis smirked. He had the air of someone that was holding the best back for last, so Chloe bit.

"OK, what's so great about this fashion show? Why do you look like Winnie the Pooh who just got his hands on a dozen honey pots?" She crossed her arms and looked at him through narrowed eyes.

Travis's eyes stared at her cleavage until Clark's growl made his eyes snap to hers. "OK, you know Mr. Jones who likes to think he runs men's fashion in this town?"

"Yeah, so?" Clark was feeling indignant at this creep, Chloe could tell. She needed to get this over before Clark beat him to a pulp and she never got anything out of him again.

"The designer of the show is Jason Mudd… who used to work with him..." He looked at the teenage pair expectantly. The excitement he was waiting for never appeared so he elaborated. "The talk around the office is that they're accusing each other of stealing designs. It's full-fledged war between the two of them. They're taking bets at the office on who hits who first."

Chloe sighed. She had known this was going to be a slow news week! "I suppose that'll be worthy enough. But how are we supposed to get in there?"

Travis's smile became extremely slimy. _Oh, he has something_, Chloe thought._ I wonder if he'll try and make me pay for it or if he'll remember that I could get his butt fired…_ "I snagged these," and he tossed her two press passes. "You'll be able to get in there, no problem."

"Not bad, Travis." Chloe was impressed despite herself. He'd actually taken the initiative on this one. "We'll see how this event pans out."

They turned and left the rather smelly place as soon as they could. They'd gone about a hundred yards before Clark stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Chloe, I think you'll have a great time at the fashion event. Ummm… I gotta' go help my dad with some chores." His face actually looked disappointed with a faint hint of hopefulness in the background.

Chloe laughed. Right, like Clark was going to be able to pull something over on her. "Clark, you're coming with me."

His face dropped. "I don't know anything about fashion, as we'd discussed earlier. Why would you want me there?"

"What if something happens?" she challenged. "I need you there to protect me."

Clark laughed. "As if! We all know that you have a jumbo can of mace in your bag at all times. You've never been helpless." She stared at him and his laughter died off. "Unless you're being threatened by meteor mutants, of course."

Chloe shuddered. She'd had way too many encounters with people that wanted to kill her. "Clark, you're coming. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"And you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with me?" he countered. "I know how you feel about my wardrobe."

This time Chloe actually stopped to think about the situation. She motioned him to sit on the park bench underneath one of the cherry trees that City Hall kept planting. Didn't they know that these specific trees did not do well in the Kansas climate? The winter killed the poor things every year. She looked at Clark honestly. Oh, he was beautiful, no one would deny that, but his fashion sense left a lot to be desired. If they didn't want to be immediately designated as hick school reporters, she needed to do something. "You're right. You'd never pass for a fashionista."

Clark smiled, relieved. "I didn't think so. Maybe you could take Lana…"

Chloe's vengeful smile returned with a vengeance. "Oh no, Mr. Kent. There is another solution."

Clark looked at her warily. "What?"

"We're going to go shopping…"

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A/N: jen81265 – I really appreciate your efforts to review each and every chapter. They made me smile and encouraged me to keep plugging away!**_

_ForeverTom – No worries about me giving up fan fiction for script writing. I discovered the site and got really distracted that day, but all my thoughts have been on this story. So ya'll are stuck with me for awhile longer… Also, I appreciate your comment about not dumbing Clark down. I agree that it's usually just used to enhance a weak plot, but he's not an unintelligent character. I've always seen him as refreshingly naïve. I sincerely hope that Chapter 2 and the slash section didn't give you that impression. I noticed that I did say it in my author's note in Chapter 3, but I guess I meant more media knowledgeable… You know, with the reference to "Laugh In"…_


	11. Chapter 11, Lana's assignment, part 2

_**Summary: **Lana's continuing investigation into the Smallville High cafeteria food._

_**A/N:** I'm still thinking she should get a little dirty… (muhahaha) but it probably won't be in this chapter. As an insight into me, I had originally intended this part to be all one chapter (i.e. Lana's assignment, Pete's assignment, etc.) but the story got out of hand! Then with the multiple chapters assigned to each character, I thought that grouping it all together by assignment would be way too choppy._

_**Disclaimer:** As much as I love reading fan fiction, do you really think I would be writing here if I owned any part of Smallville? The characters & location are all borrowed from the WB…_

* * *

At the school district office, Lana allowed herself a moment to look around. If Mr. Peterson was as hard-nosed as Julia said, this was going to be rough. He didn't have a secretary and couldn't keep one, so maybe she could bluff her way in? Or was she borrowing trouble? Maybe she should just ask to set an appointment. An image of a displeased Chloe floated through her mind. If she tried to set an appointment, it would probably be at least a couple of days and then she'd still have other research to accomplish. She reached in her bag and pushed record on her mini recorder. With what Julia had said, maybe she could get some information from the secretaries. Lana pursed her lips as she rang the bell.

One of the secretaries came to the front desk. She smiled. "Can I help you, Miss Lang?"

Lana smiled brightly. "Mrs. Smythe! How nice to see you! I didn't know you started working here after you left the front office at school?"

"Well, I decided to take the promotion. Why not? It'll help for my retirement." She laughed softly. "It's nice to see you again as well. What can I do for you today?"

Lana thought about the subtle approach. "I'm here to see Mr. Peterson."

Mrs. Smythe's face twisted. "You're here to see Harold? Have you lost your mind?"

Lana's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

The older woman regarded Lana with chagrin. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say anything… He's just a pain in the butt, I'm telling you. Lana, if you have any sense, you will walk right out that door."

"Is he a really busy man? Is that why he's such a pain?"

Mrs. Smythe rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's busy enough, I suppose. He's in a meeting right now. But he's just so unpleasant. I tell you, I wouldn't wish that man on anyone. Just the other day, he screamed at one of our student employees."

Lana widened her eyes. "You're kidding?"

"Oh no. As is our practice here, we put all the mail on poor little Julia's desk to sort for responses. It wasn't her fault that one of the files was his." A shrug and a sigh were signs of resignation in the other woman. "We all know that his files aren't to be touched, but it slipped through the cracks and landed on her desk. When he saw it, I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel in his brain."

"Oh my goodness! Why didn't his secretary catch it?" _Good Lang, good! Keep fishing…_

"Oh, that man can't keep a secretary to save his life. Since his start about a year ago, I think the longest lasting one was 3 weeks. I think he's out of luck now. The rumor mill will have it that he's impossible to work for. He probably likes it best that way. He's a real loner."

Lana pulled herresigned face. It's time to throw all her irons in the fire with this one. "Well, I guess it's too late now. I have an appointment." She was so glad that she and Chloe had come up with the pastime to practice different "looks". It was just so helpful during these investigations.

"You're right. If you miss an appointment with that man, he'll make you pay for it one way or another." The woman quickly ran her finger down the appointment list. "You're not on here, but he never puts his meetings out where the rest of us lowly mortals can see it. His office is down the hall and to the left. You can't miss it."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Smythe. I'll be back soon." Lana smiled at the lady as she made her way down the hallway. Fluorescent lights lit her way, but the lighting steadily got worse as she made it to his door. A brass nameplate announced that she'd found her destination. She looked around. It was really grimy here. Lana grimaced. The fluorescent light blinked in distress and the floors looked as if they hadn't been mopped in months. _Looks like it isn't just the secretaries Mr. Peterson is alienating._

She knocked on the door. Hearing no answer, she knocked again. If she went back now, it would announce to everyone in the office that she'd been lying about her appointment. She tried the doorknob. The door creaked open on sullen hinges. Her heart beat faster as she looked around the darkened room. She flipped the switch. She wanted Mr. Peterson to know she was here, after all. She gently eased the door shut and looked at the piles of paper around her. If anyone was in need of a secretary, this man was. She sat on an available chair, hoping that he would appear soon so she could make her escape.

Lana pulled out a novel to read while she waited when a familiar emblem caught her eye. It was the Smallville High insignia. This might have all the information she needed. Lana looked around and debated within herself. If she waited for Mr. Peterson, all she would get would be canned language to make him and the district look good. Here was ample information that might help refute that. Lana tucked her journal back in her bag. _I'm not really a snoop by nature… _she thought, trying to justify her proposed action. She stood. _I'm just looking for the truth._ She moved to the side of the desk, nimbly avoiding knocking over any of the stacks of files. _It's not like there's anything criminal going on._

Lana was now directly in front of the folder. It sat their innocently proclaiming that it might have all the information that she could possibly need for her story. She argued with herself a few more moments until she finally gave into her curiosity. _Oh, just think like Chloe, Lang. It's the only way sometimes to get a great story._ She quickly flipped open the folder. Immediately on top of the file was a manifest of their latest order. Her eyes widened at the amount of food listed. _Our high school isn't that big. How could we possibly eat this much food?_

She reached to turn the next page when voices in the hallway froze her hand. "Listen, James. I know what you're trying to do, but we have an agreement." Lana quickly shut the folder, stuffed it in her bag,and tried to stealthily edge around the desk. Her haste was making her feel clumsier, but she reached it just before the voice reached the outside of the office. "Don't you threaten me, Knightley. I have more on you than you could possibly have on me. Oh, you think so? Well, we'll just continue this after you've had some time to think about it."

A cell phone slapped together as the office door was thrown open. A portly, middle-aged gentleman with porcine eyes and a definite comb-over entered the room in a huff. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Lana. "Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in my office?"

Lana hopped out of her seat and thrust out her hand. _Let's see if the Lang charm can get me out of this one?_ she thought. "Mr. Peterson, I'm Lana Lang. I'm a reporter for the Smallville High Torch and I came to do an interview with you."

His unibrow came together even further. "Miss Lang, I do not give interviews."

"That's fine, Mr. Peterson. I totally understand. It's just that I wanted to give you the opportunity to discuss the quality of the food served at Smallville High and respond to the students' complaints." She smiled and batted her lashes. "I understand that a man as important as you usually shouldn't be bothered by something like this, but the slackers at my school are really causing a stink. I would really appreciate it if I could have a moment of your time and your comments on their concerns. I know that anything you say will totally overturn any complaints."

Lana watched Mr. Peterson slowly melt. The schoolgirl charm and heavy flattery was doing its job. "Well, I suppose I could give you five minutes, Miss Lang. Please have a seat." He closed the door and got to his desk. Notebooks and files toppled and fell in his wake.

Lana smiled and popped out her recorder. With the mess he was making, he would never miss that file."Mr. Peterson, I so appreciate your help. Let me start by saying that I really appreciate your efforts on my school's behalf. Since I don't want to take up too much of your time, I'll just ask you one question."

Mr. Peterson leered at her. "That's very thoughtful of you, Miss Lang. Go ahead."

"The main complaint at the school is that the food is poorly made and contains no nutritional value. What is your response to that?"

Mr. Peterson chuckled. "Every school district that I have served in has had those very same questions, Miss Lang. But I will tell you this. The menu is thoughtfully gone over by none other than myself. I have a degree in proper nutrition, so I always ensure that the menu contains food from all the food groups in sufficient quantities. We have skilled workers in the cooking area so the food is prepared with care. I understand that students may not realize this, but the fast food that is preferred is not good for them and so we try to make sure that, at least for one meal, they have proper nutrition." He nodded his head to emphasize his point.

Lana made a show of snapping off the recorder. "Mr. Peterson," she gushed, "that was totally awesome. I really appreciate your time here. I do want to warn you that my article may not make it into the paper because our editor is a real pain…"

He grunted. "Miss Sullivan? You can say that again. There isn't an office in this building that she hasn't haunted. But I have made strict instructions that she is never to enter my office. The superintendent respects my decisions and I've no intention of allowing that muckraker the chance of impinging on my reputation." He slammed his hand on his desk, toppling the closest stack to the floor.

_He's a total slob! Now I know why Chloe gave me this assignment!_ "I totally understand. If I didn't need the elective, I totally wouldn't be working for her. But as it is..." she sighed dramatically.

"No need to explain, Miss Lang." He smiled in what he obviously thought was a fatherly manner. Lana struggled to suppress a shudder. There just wasn't something right about that man. "It's those college pre-reqs."

"Exactly." Lana got up and started edging towards the door. A smell was starting to emanate from Mr. Peterson and she really needed to get out into the fresh air. "I really thank you for your time."

"Any time, Miss Lang. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks. I will." Quickly she opened the door and made her escape. She paused for a moment outside the door. So, he'd worked in other districts… There should be some record of that somewhere. _I wonder what I'd find if I researched that?_ Lana shook her head as she headed for the outside world. She'd consider that if she ran out of leads. Now she needed to talk to one of their cafeteria ladies. See if his story checked out…

_**

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A/N: I think there'll be at least 2 more parts to Lana's investigation. Do you think that'll be too much?**_


	12. Chapter 12, Chloe & Clark go shopping

_**Summary:** Chloe & Clark are at a store to pick something out for Clark to wear that isn't plaid... Chloe & Clark at a fashion show… Can you think of anything more against type?_

_**A/N:** I'm sad. No more reviews. Does that mean no one's reading my fanfic? Or is it that it's not good and people don't want to send bad reviews? sigh I miss the feedback… gasp... I'm losing my motivation………Just kidding... mostly..._

_**Disclaimer:** It would be nice if I were getting paid for this. However, I am not. I own nothing of the locals and characters. I just threw them into situations of my making. All else belongs to the WB._

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Chloe walked into Jones Design with a sense of purpose. Clark was going to look so good that everyone was going to think he was a model. _I mean, for crying out loud. He has the perfect features… Full lips… Soulful eyes… A body to die for… I'm surprised Mrs. Kent hasn't suggested it as a way to save the farm the many times it's been in trouble or to pay for his college tuition._ "Now, Clark, this should be fairly…" She turned and realized she was talking to herself. She looked outside the window and Clark was still sitting in her car. 

She rolled her eyes and stalked back outside. She swung open the door, harder than usual in her irritation. "Clark Kent, you get out of there right now!" She stamped her foot. _Oooooo! He can be so frustrating!_

"I don't know why I need to get new clothes." He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "My clothes are clean and not ripped. We're in a hick town. It'll be expected."

They looked at each other for a while, neither willing to forgo their point. As Chloe saw his jaw set, she knew the time had come. She grabbed his hand and started pulling. "If you do not get out of that car in 5 seconds, I will never talk to you again!"

"Promise?"

Chloe gasped. Tears filled her eyes as if by magic and she let go of his hand, landing on the sidewalk with a thump. "I can't believe you said that!" Through her tears, she could see Clark's face dissolve into one of panic. _Lana was right,_ she thought smugly. _Learning to cry on command is a fabulous talent._

Clark scrambled out of the car and knelt beside Chloe. His hands fluttered around her, unsure whether to gather her into a big hug or to pat her shoulder awkwardly. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'll buy whatever you want me to."

She looked up at him through her veil of tears. "You… You mean it?" she hiccupped, rather proud of her performance, actually.

Clark gulped. "I mean it. Whatever you want me to wear." She smiled and Clark heaved a sign of relief. "Why don't we go inside?" he said solicitously, hauling her to her feet. "I'm sure they have a tissue you could use to dry your eyes." He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her into the store.

Chloe took a couple of big breaths so that she wouldn't burst into gales of laughter. Clark could be stubborn, but he had no defense against tears. She dutifully dabbed her eyes when Mr. Jones handed her a tissue. After a couple of heartbeats to continue the illusion that she was pulling herself together, she turned her attention to Mr. Jones. He had moved to Smallville only 5 years ago when the fickle fashion world turned its back on him. He hadseemed happy enough… until a former employee became a famous designer. At only 50, he didn't really look like your stereotypical fashion designer. He was balding, but had a very terrible toupee that no one ever mentioned in his presence, and was on the pudgy side. Not to mention the florid ascots he insisted on wearing! No one would have thought he was a fashion guru, but he was the only one in town that could help her. Everyone else considered Clark's look the norm.

She smiled at him, hoping to put him in a good mood. "Mr. Jones, we're here to update Clark's look. And since you're the best designer in town…"

"I would say 'the world,' young lady." For a chunky man, he had a very effeminate voice. Chloe suddenly wondered if Mr. Jones was hiding something as well. He looked a little stiff, probably wondering how they were going to pay, so figured she might as well try and charm him.

She turned her smile on him and said, "Exactly, Mr. Jones. So that's why I brought Clark here to get ready for the fashion…" She flinched. She hadn't intended on saying so much. And she was right in knowing she'd gone too far.

"You're going to that… that abomination?!?" Mr. Jones's face was turning an unhealthy red. Chloe wondered if she should be worried about his blood pressure, but decided it was too late for that. "And you want _my_ clothes to go there?!?"

Chloe gaped at him for a minute. _How in the world am I going to get out of this?_ She took a deep breath and started to speak. "Mr. Jones," Clark interrupted, smiling his million-dollar smile that got Chloe every time. She could even tell he had his apologetic face on. _Oh, he's good!_ She let him get on with it. If he could get her out of this mess, he really was her very own superhero. "Chloe was very upset and she didn't mean that. The reason why we came here is that I wanted to show the world how great your designs were at the show and rub Jason's nose in it."

Mr. Jones seemed to melt. Chloe wondered if it was due to the flattery or the smile. She decided it was probably half and half. "Well, you won't find anything more fashionable and flattering to the figure than what you'll find here," Mr. Jones cooed. He actually reached over and took Chloe's arm and then Clark's. He walked them over to the curtain section. "Mr. Kent, I can tell that you're a man of distinction. Not for you is any of this off the rack dribble. No, for you, it must be truly unique."

Chloe smiled at the elder man and squeezed his arm. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Jones. I didn't mean anything by what I said."

"I know, dear." He actually unbent enough to pat her hand. "It's just that this fashion show of Jason's is a real slap in the face. When he worked for me, the boy had absolutely no talent and now City Hall is bending over backwards to welcome him back to town!" His face turned grim. "I've begged and begged to get funding for a fashion show, knowing it would bring new business into town, but do they bother to listen, oh no!" He released their arms and turned to look at them. He smiled. "But that is neither here nor there. Miss Sullivan, if you wouldn't mind taking a seat, we'll have Mr. Kent tricked out so he won't shame you at the festivities." His eyes turned sly. "And if you would mention how much you love my fashion in that fabulous little newspaper of yours… Well, let's just say that I wouldn't mind giving you two a discount."

"Mr. Jones! You're so wicked!" Chloe tilted her head back and laughed. "But you have no need to worry. I remember Jason. I'm sure your unique brand of fashion will just blow him away!"

He nodded in acknowledgement of the complement and led Clark behind the curtain. Chloe sat there waiting. Mr. Jones sure was upset about Jason's fashion show, but she really couldn't blame him. He'd felt exiled those many years ago and to have the town welcome back a protégé that you think is unworthy… Well, Chloe couldn't imagine that. It would hurt, but what could _Mr. Jones_ do about it?He wouldn't do something violent, would he? It just seemed so impossible. He was volatile like the stereotypical French chef, but that didn't mean he could…

Chloe's thoughts stopped in their tracks when Clark came out from behind the curtain. "I'm not wearing powder blue," he thundered over his shoulder. His face looked like a thundercloud, but that's not what caught Chloe's eye. Apparently, the wardrobe disagreement had occurred after Clark had gotten out of his normal clothes. She sat back and drank her fill. _I guess that answers the age-old question. Clark's a boxer man._ She smiled and raked his body up and down with her eyes. She knew he had muscles… Heaven only knew how many times she'd bumped into him (_On purpose and on accident_, she admitted to herself.) and felt like she'd slammed into a brick wall... but the reality of it all...

"Chloe!" Clark stuttered, a blush running down his face. Chloe was bemused to see it travel down his chest.

"Clark," she started, swallowing back her appreciative laughter. "I don't think that outfit will allow you to get into the fashion show." Her chest felt like it was on fire with holding in the laughter.

Clark clutched at the curtain and drew it around him, accidentally pulling it down from the wall. "I… uh… didn't think… He wanted me to wear a powder blue leisure suit."

"Well, I have heard the leisure suit is making a comeback…" she said thoughtfully, eyes dancing. Mr. Jones came out of the dressing area, clutching the offending garment. It so wouldn't do for someone of Clark's coloring. "But you're probably right. I was thinking more classical lines, Mr. Jones. Think a younger Lex Luthor."

Mr. Jones's threatening frown cleared up. "Miss Sullivan, you are absolutely correct. Mr. Kent will be in the audience so it would be of no use to have him in model's clothing as if he were going down the runway." He ducked his head in embarrassment. "I must have lost my head. This whole affair has just thrown me for a loop."

"I understand, Mr. Jones." Chloe smiled gently. The older man had been through enough and she couldn't bear to tease him. Clark on the other hand… Well, let's just say that she wasn't prepared to let him forget this little incident any time soon. "I was thinking about something striking. Something out of the ordinary, but still appropriate for a function such as this. I don't want to give Smallville a bad name by the Torch's reporters."

"I have just the thing. Come, Mr. Kent." Mr. Jones swept into the back. Clark narrowed his eyes at Chloe before following.

Chloe could hear some murmuring in the back, but the arguments appeared to be over. She didn't have very long to wait before Clark came out again… This time he was in appropriate attire. Her jaw dropped and she rose to her feet. Clark looked amazing! He had a three-button navy suit on that was formal without being overdone. It fit him to a tee. But what really set it off was the bright red button-down shirt underneath it. There was no tie because it was totally unnecessary and would have made him look fussy... like he was trying too hard. In her mind, she could think of no better outfit. Going to the fashion show on his arm would have her be the envy of all other women there.

"What do you think?" Clark asked nervously. His hands twitched and Chloe smiled. _He's struggling not to tug at the bottom of the suit. How adorable!_

Chloe took a deep breath and swallowed. "Clark, you look amazing. How did you two put this together so quickly?"

Clark smiled. "Well, he asked me what my favorite colors were and this sort of fell together. Will it do?"

"Clark, it may break the bank of your savings, but you have to buy this outfit. We are going to be the belles of the ball!" She threw him a predatory look. They were _so _going to fit in at this show!

_

* * *

A/N: I apologize for this taking so long. I meant to have it all ready, but I forgot to take my flash drive home so I couldn't work on it from there and work has been really busy. Oy vey! I NEED FEEDBACK!!! sob _

_So, now that I'm done with the chapter, a little explanation. As you can tell, I've been arranging the chapters in a Lana/Pete/Chloe & Clark order. Lana's story is complete. Pete's story is all their in my head, but I have to finish one or two more bits. Chloe and Clark's… Well, let's just say that it's been taking a lot of thinking about what type of situation to put them in that didn't have a meteor freak in it. But I've noticed that the meteor phenom almost seems to be overdone. I thought (for this one at least) that I'd try and have them do something quasi-normal… wink..._


	13. Chapter 13, Lana's assignment, part 3

_**Summary: **Lana's continuing investigation into the Smallville High cafeteria food._

_**A/N:** This is the long awaited chapter where Lana gets slimed! Hope she isn't wearing anything that has to be dry cleaned! She may just have to throw her entire outfit away!_

_**Disclaimer:** As much as I love reading fan fiction, do you really think I would be writing here if I owned any part of Smallville? The characters & location are all borrowed from the WB…_

* * *

The next morning, Lana decided that she needed to get input from the cafeteria employees. That way, if they had nothing of interest, she could spend more time digging and still make her deadline. But the question quickly became when… 

Her free period was an hour before the first lunch period. She took the time and ran to the cafeteria. She wondered how she would start out the conversation. Did she come straight out and confront them about the awful food or should she be devious? These women dealt with teenagers every day. Being cute and flattering probably wasn't going to give her the information she needed. So apparently, confrontation was her only option.

She entered the cafeteria and headed straight for the kitchen. She actually expected to hear more preparation noises coming from the room. As she entered, the first thing she noticed that there was all of 2 people in the room. _How is this possible? They couldn't fix meals for over 1500 adolescents with only 2 people?!?_

"What are you doing back here?" the older cafeteria lady growled. "You kids aren't allowed back here."

Lana tried a smile. She didn't want to put them on the defensive too quickly. "Are you the only two that work this station? That's amazing if it's true."

Cafeteria Lady #1 (she didn't give her name, so Lana needed someway to separate them in her mind) barked with laughter. "What are you? Slow? Of course we're not the only two people that prepare the food here."

"Well, I'm glad that you haven't been given that Herculean task." Lana smiled again and held out her hand. "My name is Lana Lang and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions for the Torch."

"I know who you are, Miss Lang," sneered C.L. #1. "I didn't know you had the brains to work at the paper. I thought you had one of your sycophants doing all your homework for you."

"Excuse me?" Lana was shocked at the obvious antagonism of the woman.

"You heard me. You think just 'cause I work in the cafeteria that I don't see how you're treated. You're Smallville's own little princess. Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth, I'm sure."

Lana could feel her blood start to boil. She'd been trying for years to live down that reputation. It was no secret that her parents had died in that meteor shower, but she hadn't asked to be photographed by Time and made the poster child for the tragedy. And here was this woman that probably barely had a high school education passing judgment on her. "Whatever," she bit out. She wanted this done as soon as possible. "I wanted to ask if you were satisfied with the nutritional value of the food served from this kitchen."

"Of course I am. You brats think you deserve gourmet meals. But Mr. Peterson does a good job to make sure you get what you need, so there's no cause for complaint."

"We do pay for our meals, you know."

"Sure you do, at an extremely generous rate. You will eat what we prepare for you and like it. Now get out of my kitchen. I have work to do." C.L. #1 turned her back on her.

Lana had never been so insulted in her life. _Just who does that woman think she is? She's supposed to be serving the student body, but she has such a disdain for the students that it was actually surprising that she hasn't tried to poison us yet_. She stalked out of the kitchen, trembling with rage.

"Miss Lang," came a whisper around the corner as she left the cafeteria.

Lana turned around and looked. It was the second cafeteria lady. "Can I help you?" Lana asked, her voice dripping with ice.

"You said you were doing an article about the food here?" The lady looked around nervously. Lana wondered why she was being so paranoid.

"I am. Did you have something you wanted to add to what you cohort said?"

"Maude is an old battleaxe. She supports Mr. Peterson 'cause he pays her well. I just started so I don't get her benefits."

"What benefits would those be?" Lana was curious now. _Oh, if I could do an expose on that woman in there… maybe get her fired… That would be lovely!_ She shivered in joy.

"Christine, where are you? I swear if you're slacking on the job…" The bellow came from the cafeteria.

Christine jumped nervously. "Okay, I can't talk now. Meet me behind the school by the kitchen door after school. I'll tell you everything then." Lana didn't even have time to thank her before she had scurried away.

_Now isn't that interesting_, Lana thought as she hurried back to her next class.

-----

Lana walked behind the school, looking about her carefully. She really didn't want to run into Maude just before this clandestine meeting. She may be tempted to kick her teeth in and the principal really frowned on abuse ofschool workers as a rule. She edged closer and closer to the door, hoping that Christine would call out to her soon.

"I can't believe that traitorous whore was going to blow the whistle on us." Maude's voice came out clearly from the kitchen. Lana ducked behind one of the trash cans that lined the school.

A low voice responded. "Are you really surprised? I told you not to tell anyone about our system here. What were you thinking?" and the sound of flesh hitting flesh reached Lana's ears.

"How could you hit me like that?" Maude's voice was becoming very shrill indeed.

"Because you're stupid and can only think as far as your next paycheck." Menace oozed out of the voice. "You will need assistance, and I will pick your next coworker."

"You know, I could spill the beans just as easily as Christine." Maude's voice had the sound of tears in it.

"And would you want to wind up in her situation?" A hint of laughter was heard that gave greater meaning to the menace of before.

"No! No, sir! I am your faithful employee. Have I ever done anything that would make you think otherwise?" Maude's groveling made Lana want to wretch. What had they done with Christine anyway?

"And you had better remain so. Remember, as much as you think you have on me, I have ten times more on you. Or would you like the school board to know of the prison record you neglected to inform them of?" Loud weeping could be heard. "I didn't think so. Now get back to work. I want this place cleaned and ready for the morning."

Footsteps headed towards Lana. She ducked even further behind her trash can, peaking out through the crack between the can and the wall. The form of Mr. Peterson exited the kitchen and headed down the alley, opposite Lana. She breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been really awful for him to have found her there… especially if he'd done something permanent to Christine for even thinking about talking to her. It was obvious now that there was no way she could go back to him to ask more questions. She waited there, wanting to make sure he was gone before she moved.

"Stupid jackass! I should just quit this damn job! It's not worth it! I could find work elsewhere." Maude's voice came nearer and Lana held her breath. Suddenly a bag was slammed into the garbage can and burst… dumping all of its contents on Lana's head. Dripping with slime, she headed back to the Torch. She really needed to do some more research... and take a shower.


	14. Chapter 14, Chloe & Clark head out

_**Summary:** Clark Chloe… They're almost at the fashion show, can you believe it?_

_**A/N:** OK, so I'm a total slacker. It's been nearly 3 weeks since I've posted a chapter. What has been going on with me? Of course, I hadn't gotten any reviews for awhile… :D but I can't blame my laziness on that…Plus, that's not an excuse anymore! Thank you, Kristi Markmark261!_

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing… Unfortunately… What would I do if I did own it? I'd buy a country or a tropical island… Oh, yeah!_

* * *

Chloe pulled up to the Kent farm. They had agreed to meet there so Chloe could have final veto power if he did something to mess up his fab ensemble and so they could take her car. Surprisingly enough, as she drove up the long driveway, she discoveredshe was feeling pretty nervous. This really wasn't her normal beat. Both of them were all dressed up... more date-esque than they'd been for awhile... Why hadn't she just called Lana and have her take the story? 

_Oh, be honest. You may not be in love with Clark anymore, but there's nothing compared to being on his arm while you both look fabulous._ She smiled at the thought. She had never thought of herself as so status and look conscious, but obviously she had her moments. She parked and got out of the car. Her dad had always said that she couldn't go out with someone if they sat out in the car and honked. _What's good for the goose is good for the gander, Grandma would always say._ OK, so they weren't on a date, _per se_, but that didn't mean it still wasn't true. Plus, she liked the Kents. She always felt accepted as part of the family… and she really appreciated that. So if she could finagle time at their house, she would.

She was all ready to knock on the door, but Martha Kent was ready for her. "Oh, don't you look lovely, Chloe." Martha smiled at her and Chloe felt herself blush.

"Do you really think so, Mrs. Kent?" Chloe did a little turn. She was in an asymmetrical black dress that really flattered her curves. She'd swept her hair up (even though it was short and hardly needed it) and silver was her decoration of choice… silver earrings, silver necklace, silver shoes… She'd thought it'd looked nice, but…

"You're positively glowing." Martha took her arm and ushered her into the house. "I wouldn't have thought you would look good in black, but…"

"I know! But this dress is so fabulous!" Chloe was gushing. She felt so girly in this dress.

Martha hugged her around her shoulders. Chloe basked a bit in the motherly approval. It had been so long since she had her own mother around that she kinda' enjoyed the attentions she got from her best friends' mothers. _They have no idea how lucky they are!_ Martha was the best, though, since she didn't have a daughter of her own. Sometimes Chloe wondered at how she could stand the constant maleness of the Kent household.

Chloe sat at the island counter to wait for Clark. She was actually surprised that he wasn't already downstairs. It seemed to her that even when she tried to sneak up on him, he was already ahead of her… and that tended to irritate her no end. And here she was, anticipating him seeing her, and he was late? Where was the justice in the world?

"I think he's nervous," Martha said, putting a cup of coffee in front of Chloe. Chloe smiled at her thoughtfulness… but then Martha wasn't one to forget the infamous "Glass of Milk Incident of 1998." Then she thought of what she'd actually said.

"Nervous?" Chloe laughed. "You must be joking!"

Martha smirked and Chloe was shocked to see that particular expression on that particular face. "I'm not. He doesn't want to embarrass you."

"Like that's even possible," Chloe scoffed. "That boy would look good with a pocket protector!"

"Chloe, like he could go to school with just that!" Martha's grin widened when it was obviously that Chloe had got the joke.

_Who knew Mrs. Kent was a closet verbal perv?_ Chloe thought, her eyes still wide. She opened her mouth and shut it… uncertain what the appropriate response would be. She opened her mouth again but then the sight before her made her jaw drop totally open. Clark walked down the stairs and he was totally jump worthy. She had been so right to make him buy that suit! The navy blue just made his eyes pop and the red next to his skin… _Oy, vey! Did I say I was over him? Right… Just a lust thing… Got it!_

Clark's eyes never left hers as he continued down the stairs. It was almost eerily reminiscent of the Spring Formal, except he had gotten a limo for them. Thoughts of that dance made Chloe cringe inside._This isn't good._ Chloe took a deep breath. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Clark looked devastated. "Come on, Chloe! I can't look that bad…"

Chloe was surprised as a bark of laughter erupted from her. "As if!" Her sense of the ridiculous (which was all about her behavior and the look on his face) started to get the better of her and the laughter caused tears to stream down her face. _Thank goodness for waterproof make-up… and an inclination to wear it in case I get dumped in something._ Finally she got a hold of herself and wiped her face with the towel Martha kindly handed her. "Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "If we don't get started soon, we'll be late."

"Clark, you keep that suit in one piece," Martha warned, walking them to the door. "It took a lot of thought on Chloe's partand you spent more on it than you have on clothes your entire life."

"You bet, Mom. I'll be on my best behavior," Clark called meekly.

Chloe laughed as he opened her door. His mother really had pounded in the manners. "She's treating you like you're two, Clark! What does she think? You're going to go rolling around in the mud, making mud pies?" Clark looked at her for a moment. _He wants to say something_, she thought. She leaned closer, looking into his eyes. "What?" she asked softly, trying not to break the spell.

As soon as she'd spoken, she knew she'd made a mistake. He blinked and leaned back. A smile crossed his face, but didn't seem to reach his eyes. "Yeah, she treats me like a kid sometimes, but I know it's 'cause she loves me."

Chloe could have kicked herself. She would have given her right arm to know his secret. In fact, over the years she'd done things she wasn't proud of just to get inside his head. She sighed. If she was just patient… _Who are you kidding? By no stretch of the imagination could you be called patient!_ To get away from her thoughts, she muttered, "But of course," and kicked the car into gear as soon as they were both inside.

_shortly thereafter_

The Talon had been commandeered for the event and Chloe was hard put to find a spot. "Chloe, just park anywhere!" Clarksighed."We're going to have to hoof it anyway and if you don't park soon we're going to be really late!" Clark only seemed to be able to take about 2 minutes of her dithering about spaces.

"But we'll get all dusty if we park too far away!" Chloe could imagine the dust and debris that would inevitably coat her dress once she stepped out of the car. The wind had picked up and it always seemed to bedusty in Kansas.

"You can't look anything but fabulous, Chloe," Clark assured her. She felt a blush of pleasure hit hercheeks."If it will make you feel better, I'll lend you my jacket."

"It won't help," Chloe moaned. _Man, I'm really channeling my inner Lana now!_

"I'll personally make sure you are dust free when we get in there." Clark looked at her with wide, innocent eyes.

_That's enough to make me refuse the coat, Mr. Kent,_ Chloe thought wickedly. Thankfully, she managed to swallow it back. Just then, a space in front of Nell's old flower shop opened up. Chloe quickly pulled in, effectively cutting off someone angling to do the same thing. A horn sounded and Chloe repressed the urge to flip them off… in respect of Clark's blushing action at the crude gesture. _You can take the boy out of the farm…_

Clark quickly exited the vehicle and was at her door before she had a chance to blink and pull herself together. She made sure that she had her 3 essentials: camera, tape recorder and note pad. She got out of the car and found herself enveloped in Clark's jacket. Then she was escorted across the street and inside. _Man! This is like a date-date!_ She shrugged and looked down. Not a speck of dust was to be found on her elegant sea of black. It was nice to be pampered sometimes.

_

* * *

A/N: As you may or may not be able to tell at this point, Chloe does not know about Clark's abilities. This is pre-Unsafe/Pariah._

_Markmark261: Thank you very much for your review. You will now notice that after this chapter, all my disclaimers have disappeared. All I can say is that I did try and make them unique per chapter… Do you know how hard that is? I will definitely proof my work when it gets transferred into the system better than I've been doing. I type it in Word before I import it. It's quite possible that the two systems aren't so friendly… :D But I have also noticed that italics text seems to smoosh together… even though they are separate. Maybe that's the problem? __I will admit that had I never watched Scooby Doo that I wouldn't even know what the crap an ascot was… It's amazing the information you can get from today's media! And you're right. Chloe's not being too evil… I am… for throwing garbage on Lana! (muwahahaha!)_

_Kristi: I'm glad you like my fic so far. Unfortunately, there will be no Chlex moments… I just had to pair the gang up and thought Pete riffin' off of Lex would be much more satisfying. Perhaps in a fanfic to come, huh?_


	15. Chapter 15, Lana's assignment, part 4

_**Summary: **Lana's continuing investigation into the Smallville High cafeteria food._

_**A/N:** Hey, look at me! Back to trying to post once a day! Really, it's the Clark/Chloe one I left 'til the end, but I have 3 days to finish the next chapter! I think I'll be OK..._

* * *

After a quick stop at the restroom to wipe off the more dripping elements of the sludge, Lana quickly ran to the Torch. She really didn't want anyone to see her in this state. She would have showered and changed in the locker room, but the girls' softball team had just finished their practice and Lana really didn't want to answer their questions.

Slipping into the Torch, she headed straight for the bag she'd left there. Thank goodness she hadn't brought it to the meeting. All of her homework and school books would have smelled and she would have been fined for damaging them. She pulled out the file she'd taken from Mr. Peterson's office and placed it on the desk beside her. She had two options. Either Mr. Peterson was doing something illegal or at the least underhanded or Christine was a disgruntled employee that had intended on feeding her lies to thepress, was discoveredand therefore fired. Lana tended to think the first option was right, but was willing to let the evidence she'd find speak for itself.

"OK, first we should look at Mr. Peterson's employment records," she muttered, tapping away at the computer. She got into the public records of the district office. It was quite possible that his resume was online… After all, it was public record. She quickly reached a website that showed his face but very little actual historical information. She briefly wished Chloe was there to help her hack into the system, but realized it was probably a good thing she was alone. She decided she could do this by phone.

"Smallville School District office. How may I help you?"

"Mrs. Smythe, please."

"Certainly. One moment and I'll transfer you."

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Smythe? This is Lana Lang."

"Lana, how are you doing? Was your interview with Mr. Peterson just awful?"

Lana smiled. This was going to be easy. "Actually, Mrs. Smythe, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. He said that he'd worked for other school districts before ours and I was wondering if I could get a fax of his resume for historical information."

"Are you sure, Lana? I wouldn't think he would be that interesting."

"Well, some discrepancies have cropped up and I wanted to do some cross checking."

"It sounds like it could beterrible for him." Laughter sounded through the line. "Give me your fax number and I'll send it to you in five minutes."

"Really?" Lana couldn't believe how easy this was. "Thanks a lot, Mrs. Smythe."

"Anything to get back at that man, Lana. Just keep my name out of it, okay?"

"You bet. Thank you so much!"

"Certainly. I'll see you around."

As they hung up the phone, Lana pondered where Mr. Peterson had gone wrong. If he had been pleasant to his coworkers, he would have made allies… and he would have been able to keep a secretary. Both of those things at this point would have either delayed or halted her investigation. Really, it was like his own fault for being such a scrooge. The fax machine rumbled into life on the other side of the room and Lana got up to get her document.

Mr. Peterson had been the food procurement officer in three districts other than Smallville... or at least that he listed in his resume. The real interesting point to that was that each position only lasted at the most 3 years. Lana thought about where to go from here. _I could call each office saying I'm looking for references, but that would bring me to his attention if they happened to let him know I called._ She decided to look through newspaper articles around the time of his departure.

All three towns had had some scandal about the food just after he had departed. Something about over-ordering. No charges were ever laid at Mr. Peterson's door, but it had been big news. _So that's what he's doing. It worked out for him in the last three towns, why wouldn't it work here?_ She wondered how anyone could be so gullible as to hire him. Then it hit her. _He looks for work just before the scandal hits so the references is called before he leaves. He must have this down to a science by now._

"So, how am I going to prove it? He's managed to get out of it three times before now. How can I possibly prove it?"

"Prove what?"

Lana shrieked and whipped around. Clark stood there very innocently, his eyes wide with shock at her reaction. "Clark! Don't you make noise when you come into a room, for crying out loud?"

"I thought I had," he said. Then he sniffed… and sniffed… and almost hurled. "What is that stench?"

"Me," she said wearily. "I wasn't careful enough."

"Dude, you should go home and shower." He backed away from her as quickly as he could. "I'll… ummm… talk to you later."

Lana laughed as the door closed. She'd never repelled a boy that fast in her life! She would have felt insulted if she didn't know it was totally justified. A shower sounded like heaven, but she needed to know one more thing before she left for the evening. Who was Mr. Peterson's supplier? He's talked to a James Knightley, but who knows where he was based.

When the solution came to her, she groaned in dismay. "I'm going to have to find the boxes that the food is delivered in. And that means… going into the dumpster." She laughed wearily. "Good thing I didn't shower after all."

Quickly she made her way through the halls of the school and back to the dumpsters. She was very relieved that no one was around. She looked around for something to stand on and found an empty trash can to assist her. She leaned into the dumpster, not willing to actually get inside, and started moving things around. Then she noticed the box. It was just beyond her reach, so she scooted her body deeper into the bin, but still with enough leverage to keep her mostly out of the trash.

Her fingers reached through the rotting vegetables and wasted food and grasped the edge of the box. She could almost read it. At this point, she teetered like a seesaw on the lip of the dumpster. She pulled but the force she used finally overcame her efforts to not take a swim in garbage. Her body flipped into the dumpster and food that had been mounted up practically buried her. "Yuck!" she yelled, thankful that she'd managed to maintain her hold on the cardboard so she didn't have to dig inside anymore. She surfaced from the garbage, pulling the piece of cardboard to the top with her. She sat there for a minute, trying to get her breath back. Finally she was able to look at the name. "Meals 'R Us," she muttered. "How clever."

She threw the cardboard out of the dumpster and pulled herself out of the box. She tore off the piece with the name of the company and noticed that just below name was a location. "Grandville, Kansas. That's not too far. I could go tomorrow night and check the place out." She looked down at her outfit. "But first I need to grab my bag and burn these clothes." She brought along her piece of evidence and quickly went home for a much needed shower.

_**A/N:** I know I'd thrown garbage on her in her last chapter, but having her actually be in the dumpster... Well, how could I resist?_


	16. Chapter 16, Chloe & Clark at the show

_**Summary:** Chloe and Clark… Now do you really think this will be an "ordinary" fashion show?_

_**A/N:** My only note with this chapter is that I sincerely hope that I didn't confuse many people with my reordering of the chapters. My bad... :D_

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As Clark guided them to their places with the rest of the press, Chloe was trying to carefully check the layout. They were behind the Talon, where the old theater stage used to be. She had forgotten all about it since the memories that had been created were centered around the inside the Talon… which really only comprised what used to be the foyer. A runway had been extended from the main stage and the buzz of activity filled the space. _At least Lana won't lose any business because of this foolishness._

She sat demurely beside Clark, trying to keep her head from swiveling at all the celebrities attending the event. She was bemused that so many people were in _Smallville_ for a stupid fashion show. And why did Jason Mudd want to have it here? Was it to have the attendance at the gala be a tribute to his talents?

"Chloe," Clark whispered in her ear. She tried to repress a shudder of desire for her currently off-limits friend. "When do you think they'll start?"

"Well, if I remember Jason's biography at all, he used to be quite the theater buff. So I would guess that the lights will blink twice to let us know…" She chuckled as her words became reality. "If I'd known I had that much power…"

Clark laughed with her, drawing dark looks from the crowd. He looked at them in disdain and Chloe was amazed he was able to do so. He must have been taking Luthor lessons! "Nudge me if I snore." He settled down a bit more in his seat.

Chloe dug her elbow into his side… wincing as if she'd just slammed it into a brick wall. "Don't you be slouching, Mr. Kent, and ruin that fabulous suit!" She smiled as he straightened up immediately. _Ah, it's good to have the power!_ "Plus, you have work to do, kiddo!"

"Kiddo?" Clark spluttered. "Chloe, you're only 2 months older than me!"

"Shhhh!" She focused her attention on the stage. She could interview other attendees afterwards. She had never been very into the latest fashion trends herself and the parade of men's fashion was enough to put her in a coma. They started out with pajamas… Well, the bottom half, at least. She was sure that Jason also sold the tops for prospective clients' other halves. She wondered what the draw was for his popularity. She could have sworn that she'd just seen those pants somewhere… maybe it was in a magazine.

Then came the swimsuits. She blushed as she realized that nine-tenths of the suits were bikini cut. _They have nice bodies, but is that really necessary?_ She glanced at Clark. His cheeks had a slight flush to them, but he was dutifully taking pictures of each outfit. _Right. Back to work._ She scribbled small descriptions for each outfit. The whole scene looked incredibly familiar to her and she wondered what was going on.

Her feelings of _déjà vu_ continued through leisure wear, but when it came to the suits, she knew what was going on. "Clark!" she whispered, tugging at his arm.

"Chloe, you totally ruined that shot!" He quickly took another one.

"While I appreciate your budding photographic skills, listen to me for a moment!"

"Can I keep working while you talk?"

Chloe sighed. She'd pushed him too hard, she just knew it. He was now oblivious to all around him but completing the mission… and in this case it was the photo documentation of the fashion show. "Are you even looking at the outfits that we've just seen?"

"Of course I am," he grumbled. "I have to make sure they're in focus. You'd never forgive me if the best outfit's only picture was blurry!"

"Clark!" Chloe could feel the whine creep into her voice. "I'm not that bad!"

Clark still didn't look at her, but a broad grin crossed his face. "Chloe, you have been known to almost assassinate journalists that turn in articles past deadline. Why would this be any different?"

_I'm not that bad, _Chloe thought defensively. _He's just teasing me. I mean, I only threatened dismemberment to John Speague for being 2 hours late. It's not that I hadn't warned him repeatedly the week before!_ Chloe paused. _Oh, crap! I am that bad! When did this happen?_

Just then Clark took pity on her. "It's not your fault, Chloe. You were put totally in charge of the school paper and we don't even have a faculty advisor! Is it any surprise that you feel a lot of pressure to do a good job?" His free arm encircled her shoulders and gave them a quick squeeze before he went back to snapping shots.

Chloe sniffed. Her anal retentive qualities were a subject that could be left for another day. "Clark, something's wrong here! Don't you see it?"

"What exactly am I supposed to see, Chloe? We've been watching guys parade past us for an hour and a half. I'm just glad it's over in a few minutes."

Chloe smiled. No matter how good he could look, she didn't think anyone would be able to make him intofashion boy. "That's the thing, Clark. I've been looking at these outfits too and I keep getting this 'been there, done that' vibe! I think there's more to the story here than just clothes."

Clark grinned again. "Your Spidey senses tingling, Chloe?"

"Actually, I'm a pedigree journalistic bloodhound, my friend, and I can smell a story here."

Clark laughed and was immediately shushed by those around him. "OK, so what's the story?"

"When this debacle is over, look at those pictures you've been taking. We've seen them all before… Some of them on you…"

"Excuse me? I've never met Jason Mudd! How could I wear his fashions?"

Chloe smirked and watched Jason come down the runway with a couple of his models. "Because we saw them all at Mr. Jones's store! Now the question is whether they are Mr. Jones originals or Jason Mudd's."

Clark lowered his camera and flipped through the pictures. He paused briefly at two; one of a powdered blue leisure suit and one that was identical to the one he was wearing. "I can't believe this! How would Mr. Jones know what Jason was going to reveal tonight?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Clark, why are you assuming that Jason is the fashion thief?"

Clark avoided her gaze. She wasn't sureit was entirely possible he could look any more uncomfortable. "Chloe, he totally creeps me out!"

"Is it because he's gay?" He swiveled to face her and was the total picture of wounded innocence… but this time she knew it wasn't an act. "OK, so that's not it. But why would you say that?"

"He was really pushy and kept complaining about Jason. After awhile, I had to just zone out on him. If you hadn't been there, I might have just left." Clark smiled. "But I'm glad I didn't. This suit you made me buy has both my fave colors and I look hot in it. I just wish it hadn't taken so much of my savings!"

"But that's the whole point, Clark. He knew you were coming to the fashion show. Why would he dress you in something that he knew would be shown at Jason's show?" Chloe shook her head. "It doesn't add up."

"Well, maybe we could ask Mr. Jones?"

"Wha…?" Chloe's head whipped around. "He's here? Where?"

"He's over there," Clark replied and pointed a long finger.

Chloe swatted at his hand, trying to bring it back down to his side. "Stop it! We don't want him to see us!"

Clark looked at her, totally perplexed. "Why? He already knows we're here."

Chloe shut her mouth and turned in the reported direction of Mr. Jones. _No reason to let him know that he totally has a point!_ People were in her way, but she looked between a couple of gaps and saw his red face. "He looks really mad, Clark. Where's he going?"

Clark's gazed followed the other man for a few minutes. "He grabbed Jason's arm and is hauling him backstage. They look like they're having a pretty good argument."

Chloe grabbed Clark's arm and dragged him after her. "We can't lose them. Now we can find out whose designs these really are._That's_ a real story!"

**_No notes today... To be continued..._**


	17. Chapter 17, Lana's assignment, part 5 C...

_**Summary: **Lana's continuing investigation into the Smallville High cafeteria food._

_

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_Lana drove her Jeep into Grandville as they were rolling up the sidewalks apparently. There was absolutely no one around and all the stores were closing. She'd kinda' told Chloe where she was going, but she hadn't wanted to worry her. It was going to be a quick in and out operation. She had no intention of meeting anyone there. She looked at the street signs and the copy of the directions she'd printed out from MapQuest. she thought as she passed Grandville's city hall. She smiled. This town made Smallville look like Metropolis. It was so tiny! She was surprised that the town hadn't noticed the shady dealings of the Meals 'R Us, but figured it was either hometown boy protection or he was too far out of town to make real news. 

The road leading to Meals 'R Us had about 2 miles of private road. She turned down it warily. If someone saw her, they would know that she was going there. As a precaution, she turned off her headlights and drove by the moon. She'd thought about leaving her parking lights on, but that would look even more suspicious. Thankfully, it was a very full moon, which bathed the world in its glow. When she was half a mile away from the warehouse, she pulled the Jeep into an enclosed area. She really didn't want someone driving by and noticing her truck… car… truck… Oh, whatever!

As she left the truck, she grabbed her bag and Chloe's camera. _I really would love a digital camera like this. I guess I'll have to save up from the Talon._ Thoughts of the Talon filled her with a sort of pang of guilt and longing. Ever since she'd helped Nell get it started and got her share of the ownership, she'd really felt like she was carving out her own place in town besides the "Tragic Fairy Princess". Of course, she had help, but this last week, she'd been away from it more than in it. Mrs. Kent was such a doll for helping out so much, but it wasn't really fair to put so much on her. She sighed. It was so hard juggling what amounted to two jobs. Maybe she could ask Chloe to put her possible contributions on the back burner… more of a guest reporter than a regular contributor. Clark and Pete would probably be pretty ticked offwith the extra work, but she wouldn't mind doing the articles on things she'd feel obligated to attend anyway.

_Something to think about later, Lana,_ she admonished herself as the warehouse came into view. She was maybe 25 yards away and if she didn't pay attention, she'd give herself away. Deep in her heart, she wondered if this was a really good idea. _Do you really want to get yourself killed going after a story?_ The answer was no, but she really didn't want to let down Chloe. She drew in a shuddering breath, willing her limbs to stop shaking. "Let's do it," she whispered. She crept slowly and as silently as possible to the waiting building.

To anyone looking from the outside, they would have seen a grey figure slowly ooze to the side of the building. Lana had recently read a book where an assassin dressed in grey because it encouraged people to ignore him since the shadows were different shades of grey... not really black. She hoped no one was looking, but if they were, she really hoped it worked. She had even tucked her hair under a grey hat. She stood up and tried to melt into the landscape. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, but she had to admit that she had never felt quite so alive. As she made her way around the building, she tried every door and window. Finally, one gave her enough leeway that she was able to squeeze through. Even at that, it was rough going. She rubbed her shoulder, sure she'd taken some skin off. She listened for the sounds of any guards. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard nothing.

She pulled out a small flashlight. The moon wouldn't help her in here very far. As she scanned the light around, she felt very ill. There were bugs crawling over food boxes with perishable food. She shined the light down and saw one pair of beady eyes and, moving the light to the side, saw at least one dead rat. Her stomach clenched and she tightened her jaws. If they knew she'd been here, they would disappear and justice wouldn't be served. Suddenly she wished someone was there with her. She felt very alone. She took a couple of pictures of the horrendous conditions… praying that the flash would go unnoticed.

Deciding that doing something was better than standing there, trying not to be sick, Lana moved further into the warehouse. She'd noticed upstairs windows and assumed that was where the offices would be. As quietly as she could, she moved to the central aisle so she could find the stairs. She ignored the crunching beneath her boots and tried to reach her destination quickly. She couldn't imagine that this place wouldn't actually have a guard, so she needed to find what she needed and get out.

With trembling steps, she started mounting the stairs. The creak that emanated from her position made her jump. She stopped, motionless, straining for any possible sound that meant someone might have heard her. _OK, the stairs make a lot of noise. How do I get up them?_ She looked at them, examining them for any possible solution. Finally she decided that the least amount of noise would probably come from the edges and the handrails. Supporting most of her weight with her hands, she gingerly made her way up the stairs. Anyone watching would have laughed at the posture she maintained. Slowly, she crept, one stair at a time, breath coming in short gasps as she tried to be quiet and listen for any sounds of pursuit.

As she reached the second floor, she felt she could breathe easier. _Where should I start?_ She looked around. She had just realized that she didn't have a lot of time, so she really didn't want to go into each of the three rooms. She shined her light on them. One pronounced itself as Mr. Knightley's office so she decided that was probably the best bet… Especially if he thought he had leverage against Mr. Peterson… The door swung open on blessedly silent hinges and she quickly shut it behind her. There were no windows to the inside of the warehouse, but she restrained herself from turning on the room light. If someone was outside the building, it would just announce her position.

Turning to the filing cabinet, she opened the first drawer. Quickly, she ran her fingers across the tabs, looking for any labels that jumped out to her. Anything that drew her attention made her stop and look inside briefly. The filing cabinet came up empty. She looked around the room, searching for a place where documents could be hidden from all the world. _He wouldn't be that stupid, would he?_ She shrugged and moved to the desk. Opening the top drawers one by one and looking underneath, she found a folder with Mr. Peterson's name on it. Inside were all the facts, numbers and history that would nail them both to the wall. She pulled all the documentation out of the folder, replaced it under the drawer and stuffed the papers in her bag.

Moving to the door, she listened briefly. _Crap! Who's that?_ Voices were coming nearer her position. She kneeled next to the door opening, keeping her head low and trying to be as quiet as possible. The door was opened and a light swung around. Because of her position near the floor, the light passed straight over her head. The door closed and the voices moved on. Lana was almost faint with relief. She listened with all her might to see when she could make her escape. With their talking, they sounded like they weren't even going to go down to the floor to look around the boxes. Lana worried that they might stay there for a couple of hours, which would increase her risk of detection… let alone that pressure on her bladder. _Darn double-tall iced mocha!_ Slowly the footsteps came back her way and headed back down the hallway. The door opened to music playing and closed.

Slowly, she eased the door open, ready for any excuse to slam it shut and lock it. _If things really go south, I guess I could go through the window. But then Mr. Peterson would know someone had been here and the operation would be moved. Crap!_Outside the door was silent but for the scrabbling sounds of bugs and rats. She eased out ofthe doorway and carefully shut it. Then she made her way down the stairs as quickly as she could. It was easier this time because she knew the most soundlessway. Darting and ducking through stacks of boxes that were really starting to emanate the smellof rotting food, she made it to her opening. With feet made lighter with fear, she flew the rest of the way to her car. _Chloe is going to be so proud of me!_ she thought exultantly. _If she even believes what I've been through tonight!_

_**

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A/N: Thank you, Terry Pratchett, for the awesome information about grey being fabu camouflage. For those of you who haven't read any of Terry's books, I sincerely recommend them. He writes different things, but my favorite is the Discworld books. ** _

_Markmark261, I would like to take this moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your reviews. They help me to keep going and try to be a better writer. As for it being a slow news day… Well, duh:D Why else would Chloe go to a men's fashion show? (And I have no idea what the heck happened to that first paragraph... I've fixed it and it hopefully stays that way. And I couldn't really find a way to make this chapter funny. There's only so much garbage you can throw on poor Lana...)_


	18. Chapter 18, Chloe & Clark's conclusion

_**Summary:** Clark & Chloe get the scoop._

_**A/N:** First of all, another apology for taking so long with this chapter. It seems that I always leave Chloe & Clark's adventure for the end and get so busy in my personal life that it gets put on the back burner. Secondly, I would like to say, for those that like my normal length of chapters, I'm sorry this one is longer. I thought that I could end their adventure faster, but the characters decided to get a little mouthy. But what can you do?_

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Chloe had to contain her excitement. She'd been so afraid that this issue would have no pathos in it. Just cafeteria food, the obligatory Luthor article, her report on the fashion show, and the rest of the standard school paper fodder. Oh, she just knew that this was going to be something big.One of the men had obviously stolen the other's designs. The question was who? 

"You have the camera, right Clark?" She was following in his wake. It was so much easier to be a path clearing machine when you were 6'4". She wished he'd stop apologizing to everyone so they could make better time.

"Yes, Chloe…" His voice was starting to get that "yes, dear" quality. She knew she was dragging him into another mess, but this was too good to pass up.

"It'll be worth it when we find them, Clark." Chloe nodded her head assuredly. "What we have here is a classic case of fashion espionage. Now we just need to discover who's been doing the stealing… Mr. Jones or Jason Mudd…"

"Have you ever wondered why we never call Jason Mudd 'Mr. Mudd'?"

"Don't get sidetracked, Clark. Can you see them?"

"They disappeared a few minutes ago. I have no idea where they are."

"Do you know what door they went through?"

Clark sighed. "What am I? Blind? Of course I do."

"Good. Just get me there as soon as you can." Chloe smiled. It was so nice to be able to boss this boy around sometimes. As long as your requests were mostly reasonable, he went along with them. It was like he realized that she would do it without him if she had to and he hung around to make sure she didn't get in too much trouble. Other than his tendency to keep secrets for no apparent reason, he really was the ideal friend and sidekick. It didn't take them long to get across the room. _I guess being polite really can move people out of your way easier than shoving your way through…_ Chloe scooted around Clark and pressed her ear against the door. All she could hear was like the sound of the theater. "Clark, we have to get in there!" She tried the handle. "Darn, it's locked!"

Clark looked at her quizzically. "Let me try."

"What? You think I don't know how to open a stupid door?" Chloe's eyes flashed and her hands were defiantly placed on her hips.

Clark rolled his eyes and sighed. Gently, but firmly, he moved her aside. "Chloe, it's not that you don't know how to open a door, but this is an old building and this part is hardly ever used. The door could be jammed." He grunted and she thought she heard a sound like metal snapping, but the door swung open, so she didn't waste the time complaining. Backstage, it seemed to still be in a permanent state of chaos. Dressers were running around, looking for incidentals that tended to "accidentally" go home with models. Models were arguing with each other about personal effects. Handlers stood on the side of the room on the phone, booking further assignments for their clients. Clark and Chloe were totally invisible to these self-centered people.

"Do you see Jason or Mr. Jones?" Chloe whispered. There were times when being petite was a real pain.

Clark's eyes roamed over the room. "Nope. But there's a set of stairs on the other side of the room. Probably goes to the other balcony…"

"That has possibilities. OK, road clearer, get to work!"

Clark chuckled and did as he was bid. Before too long, they were at the stairs and headed up. When they came to a fork in the stairs, Clark grimaced. "I'd totally forgotten about this! Should we take the left one first?"

A growl came from deep within Chloe. _When will he get that I'm not some helpless miss_ ala _old Lana and that I can take care of myself?_ "Clark, you take the left road, I'll take the right."

"Chloe, I know you can take care of yourself, but what if you get caught?"

"So what? I'll get in trouble 'cause I got lost in the old movie theater." She shrugged eloquently, her disregard for both the possibility of getting caught and any threatening consequences written in every line of her face and body. She nudged him toward his assigned stairs. "Now get moving… And don't pretend you looked everywhere and come trailing after me. I want to know what's going on." With that, she turned from her friend and headed toward her set of stairs without a backward glance… totally assured of his resignation to follow her directions. She had trained those boys for years and they knew perfectly well how she'd react if they acted like He-Men around her.

At the top of the stairs she found herself faced with three door options. _This is too easy!_ She smiled evilly. She was going to get her story and chances were good that she could finagle dinner out of Clark. Opening the first door, she was faced with an old projector room crammed full of Nell's old belongings. The second door had been nailed shut and painted over years ago. That left only one option.

As she headed toward the third door, Chloe started to feel nervous. Something wasn't right. Angry voices sounded ahead of her. _Well, I know I'm on the right track…_ Her steps slowed further and further. _Something's wrong. I should have brought Clark._ She shook her head at her timidity. She squared her shoulders and walked straight up to the door. Grasping the handle, she flung the door open.

"You little bastard!" Mr. Jones screamed. "I own you!"

"You've been living off my ideas for years, Jones," Jason growled threateningly… or as threatening as he could with a lisp and higher than normally pitched voice.

"I started you in this business. I gave you all those contacts…" Mr. Jones's face had turned an alarming shade of puce. "You've ruined me!" He pulled something out of his suit pocket that gleamed in the dark.

"What are you doing, Jonesy?" Jason stumbled backward.

_What is he so afraid of?_ Chloe thought uneasily. _A gun wouldn't sparkle like that._ She edged into the room for a closer look.

"What I should have done when you threatened to leave me five years ago," roared Mr. Jones and a shot rang out. Jason crumpled to the ground, a crimson stain spreading over the breast of his white linen suite.

Chloe gasped. "Mr. Jones?"

He twirled around and Chloe was made aware (if she hadn't realized it already) of the small jeweled gun he held in his hand. "Ah, Miss Sullivan," he purred. "I should have known you would come snooping where you weren't wanted."

He came toward her and she cursed her thoughtlessness for leaving the safety of the doorway. With two strides, he had blocked off her only entrance. Her gaze was transfixed on the gaudy but deadly weapon before her. "What have you done, Mr. Jones? Why would you kill Jason for stealing your ideas?"

A shrill laugh escaped Mr. Jones and a maniacal look glared from his eyes. "My ideas? My dear girl, I haven't had a good idea in nearly a decade. Why else would 50 percentof the town dress in plaid?"

"For its user-friendly pattern and durability?" Chloe quipped.

His eyes narrowed and without another word, his finger tightened on the trigger. _Chloe, maybe this isn't the time for your snarkiness…_Chloe closed her eyes, knowing that not even Clark could possibly save her now. She heard a click… and then another. Her face contorted in a semi-permanent flinch, she cracked one eye open. His hand kept pulling the trigger and his face was grimacing in fury. "Damn stupid glitzy one-shot Hollywood guns!" he shouted.

"Look, Mr. Jones. You don't want to hurt anyone, do you? No, you don't. So I'll just get out of your way." She eased herself along the front of the balcony, trying for the middle aisle so she could bolt out of the room.

"Miss Sullivan, after one murder, do you really think I'd even hesitate to commit another? It's not like I loved you like I did Jason." His eyes flickered to the mound of flesh and clothes.

"You loved…? Were you having an affair with Jason Mudd?" Chloe was incredulous. They had to be at least 25 years apart in age.

"Oh, not for a long time, but when he was younger… Oh, yes. I loved that boy to distraction. And the money his creations brought in. I had never seen his equal." Tears welled in the madman's eyes.

"Then why did you shoot him?"

"When he left, he said that, as a parting gift and in gratitude for all I'd done for him, he would continue to supply his designs to me before anyone else for a small percentage of the profits. And he swore he'd never come back to Smallville to expose me. Dirty rotten slut liar!" Chloe was shocked when as what she could have sworn was the most refined man in Smallville (sans the Luthors) spat upon his dead ex-lover. When his gaze returned to her, she knew she was in deep trouble.

"Clark!" she screamed, praying that he'd finished his search as easily as she had and was already heading their way.

"Mr. Kent won't be able to help you, dearie." He lunged toward her, his pudgy hands finding their way around her neck.

Chloe's eyes rounded in fright and she would have kneed him in the groin had his momentum not pushed her straight over the railing. His hands released her throat and she just managed to hang onto the railing. But when his falling, searching hands found their way around her ankle, she thought her arms were going to rip out of their sockets.

"Ah, Miss Sullivan… You saved me." Irony dripped from his tone. "I should have considered… Pull us up, you daft girl!"

His weight was unbearable to Chloe and she knew she wasn't going to make it. "Clark!" she shouted, knowing that he could never make it there in time. "Forget it, Mr. Jones. We're done for," she laughed, shocked at how insane she sounded.

"What do you mean? I demand you pull us up?" He struggled around below her, his every movement causing her joints to creak alarmingly.

"How in the world do you expect me to pull your fat butt out of this fire? I'm not even sure I could pull myself up even without you."

Silence reigned below her. "So this is it, is it?"

"Must you always state the obvious?"

"I always assumed I would go out in either a drug induced coma or something equally dramatic."

"You don't think falling to your death is dramatic? What kind of psycho are you?" She kicked her free leg beneath her. "You stupid twit! You have to pretend to be some sort of genius," she punctuated each exclamation with a kick to his head, chest or whatever was available.

"Chloe!" Clark shouted, miraculously appearing in the doorway.

"Clark!" Chloe's eyes rounded at the sound of his blessed voice. "Clark, over here!"

His face peered over the balcony and his strong hand closed over hers just as they were beginning to slip. "Hang on, Chloe. I've got you!"

"I didn't think you were going to make it," she gasped. The pain was almost unbearable. "So now you have your wish, Mr. Jones. You're getting pulled to safety and now you'll go to jail."

A scandalized gasp came below her. "Jail? I can't go to jail?"

As Clark laboriously inched them toward safety, Chloe sneered at her own personal 250 pound ankle leach. "Oh, don't pretend you're not thrilled. You'll just love being someone's girlfriend!"

"No!" came a scream and suddenly Chloe was flying over the rail and landed flat on top of Clark. They looked at each other in shock and hurried to the edge.

Chloe shuddered and Clark enfolded her in his arms. Broken on the chairs below them lay Mr. Jones… with a peculiarly satisfied smile on his face. Chloe took a deep breath. "Just what he wanted." She looked down. "Are you happy, Mr. Jones? Well, I suppose we should call the sheriff." She looked up and smiled at Clark. "Thanks for ignoring my obviously hormonal demands that you stay away."

Clark smiled at her. "Chloe, I've known you for a long time. I just made sure that I checked everything as fast as I could and came back this way. Otherwise I'd never hear the end of it."

"Oh, yeah? Well, just for that, you get to buy me dinner after we're grilled by the police." She smiled at his shocked look. "Listen Clark, I'm not totally heartless, but I haven't eaten since breakfast to make sure I could fit into my dress. I'm starving!"

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A/N: Since my last posting, I have received a lot of reviews. Since this is the second to the last chapter, I just wanted to thank everyone for their warm responses. I really think it helps people be a better writer when you give them your feedback… I appreciate it even more when it's given in a positive manner. Thanks again. **_

_Now to some specifics… TheDieHard - Well, all I can say is you are the best. You have graced me with many a supportive and appreciative review and it is so fabulous! In fact, in our conversations, I have come up with a new Smallville twist. I think you're going to like it. It's going to take awhile though… Lots of literary effort is in the works for me! If you're dying to know what it is…? Well, ask and you may receive! I don't have a specific favorite Discworld novel, but having them do something more in conjunction with it… Well, let's just say that will probably be something nice in the works._

_Spikesdoll, thank you so much! Your last review was after Chapter 16. I really hope you like the rest of it._

_Shadowborne, you are very astute. I had just read Night Watch and thought Ventinari was so right about that. Grey is a much better color for camo then black!_


	19. Epilogue

_**Summary: **Chloe ponders the edition of the Torch._

_**A/N:** Short and sweet. That's how an ending should be!_

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Chloe shook her head in amazement. They had all actually come through. This was going to be an awesome paper and she hadn't had to face certain d… Oh, that's right. She did. But it wasn't from a meteor mutant, so maybe things were looking up. She had been amazed at Pete & Lana's stories. Lana's expose had gotten that jerk Mr. Peterson canned and jailed. Pete seemed to have some more respect for Lex (which was an absolute miracle) and had helped to put away the corporate saboteur. (Of course, she had read Pete the riot act for putting himself in danger. She wouldn't want him to put himself in danger just for a stupid story that wasn't even his assignment in the first place… That was her job!) 

Her friends were really shaping up and they'd managed to escape danger without Clark running to the rescue. Her eyes narrowed. _He is always running to the rescue, isn't he? What's up with that? Does he have some sort of hero complex or something?_ Chloe rolled her eyes. When it came to his friends, Clark was determined to protect them from everything if he could. Sometimes it was a little tiring, but it was sweet. It made you feel protected… even when he wasn't around. Oh, sure, he'd been shocked that she'd wanted to eat so shortly after Mr. Jones had killed himself, but she'd seen too much in this town and mourning a raving psycho wasn't her idea of a good time.

She grimaced. _Too bad I've sworn off investigating him. But now that the paper has been put to bed, we need to think about the next edition. Maybe being vindictive has its advantages…_ She smiled and turned to her computer. She needed to research a couple of things before she left. Yeah, she had a month to do the next paper, but there was no harm in being prepared…

_**

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A/N: Well, it's finally done. Do you think it stayed true to our favorite characters? I tried putting a chapter up a day (Well, once I'd gotten some head start…) so that it would stay at Page 1 to encourage people reading. I hope you enjoyed it. It flowed easier than my regular novels… **_

_Markmark261 – You are by far my best proofreader! Thank you so much for your help! After looking at my drastic move (putting Pete & Lex all together at the beginning), I had to agree that I probably didn't have to 'cause I was so far into it and it probably confused some people… but then I decided that to move it back would be the same problem. Live and learn, I suppose. Next time I do a 3-part fiction like this, I'll have to decide how I want to set up the adventures… Thanks again!_


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